Osmeña, Yapha settle payroll signatory

SALARIES of employees of the Toledo City government may soon be released as political rivals Mayor John Henry “Sonny” Osmeña and Vice Mayor Antonio Yapha Jr. arrived at a compromise to allow the city administrator to sign the payroll signifying its approval.

Casual and Job Order employees have been waiting for four months for their salaries while regular employees were not able to get their half month salary.

On Friday, at least 100 employees of Toledo City staged a protest in front of the city hall to call on Yapha, who is acting city mayor, as ordered by the

Department of Interior and Local Government to release their salaries.

The salaries of all the city hall employees have been stalled for at least four months now due to having “two mayors” claiming to have authority in signing the city’s  payroll.

Osmeña and Yapha both claim authority over the mayoral position.

Osmeña was slapped a one-year suspension by the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas for grave abuse of authority for withholding the real property tax share of Barangay Daanglungsod since the third quarter of 2014.

However, the Court of Appeals overturned the Ombudsman’s ruling, prompting Yapha to step down as acting mayor and turnover the position back to Osmeña.

But the Ombudsman filed a motion for reconsideration (MR) on the appellate court’s decision.

Maria Loisella Lucino, DILG deputy regional director earlier said that the suspension order should stay while there is a pending motion.

But Osmeña refused to vacate his office saying the MR had already been denied by the CA last September 4.