The Cebu City Hall. CDN Digital photo | Brian J. Ochoa
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The policy of giving out bonuses only to vaccinated Cebu City Hall employees can be obliged or made into a prerequisite in a resolution.
This was the statement of Councilor Raymond Alvin Garcia regarding the statement of Acting Mayor Michael Rama that Cebu City Hall employees need to be vaccinated to get their Christmas bonus this year unless they have a qualified medical reason not to do so.
The acting mayor already said that he is not concerned about the legalities of the mandate, saying the requirement is a collective challenge to all employees, as it will take all employees to be vaccinated before all bonuses will be released.
Yet the bonuses of the City Hall employees are rooted in legalities through a passed ordinance in the City Council, the PRAISE ordinance, and subsequent resolutions submitted each year by the PRAISE council mandating the qualitalia that employees must meet to get the bonus.
As of now, the PRAISE resolution does not contain any qualification that only vaccinated employees can get a bonus.
However, Garcia said this is not necessarily a loophole as the Executive Department still has the prerogative to release the bonus to employees that fit the requirement, including the mandate on vaccination.
“So far as the council is concerned, it will be made due to the employees unless the employees voluntarily do not receive it the way we do sa council members. As to regards to the other employees, makadawat gyod na sila, but whether or not makadawat kay walay vaccination, it will be the prerogative of the executive unsaon nila pag release.
Cebu City Administrator Floro Casas, Jr., said the “no vaccination, no Christmas bonus” policy will affect at least 5,000 employees of the Cebu City Hall.
The 5,000 employees already include both regular and casual employees that are qualified for the yearly bonus. This year, the bonus is at least P20,000.
The City Administration Office is pleading to all the unvaccinated City Hall employees to do so after Mayor Rama warned that only vaccinated employees will be accorded the bonus.
Casas said he does not find any legal impediment in imposing the policy and added that the Commission on Audit (COA) will most likely leave the city to its own prerogatives.
“Niingon na si Mayor Mike gahapon nga dili lang sa ta mofocus sa legalities ani. Ang ato is iencourage gyod nato nga magpabakuna tanan,” said Casas.
The City’s Human Resource and Development Office (HRDO) is already collating a database for the vaccinated and unvaccinated employees to identify who has not gotten his or her jab yet.
Casas hopes that the City Hall employees who are yet unvaccinated will get the shot especially now that the supply is high and walk-ins are allowed in all sites except for the one in Urgello, where minors are being vaccinated.
He reminded employees that the City Hall must serve as an example in the vaccination program to encourage more people to get vaccinated and for the city to reach the desired herd immunity this year.
Presidential spokesperson, Secretary Harry Roque, already revealed the stand of Malacañang Palace over the “no vax, no bonus” policy as this is a prerogative of the LGU.
“Wala po akong nakikitang pagkakamali diyan kasi Christmas bonus po ang pinag-uusapan. Hindi naman po requirement ng batas na magbigay ng Christmas bonus,” Roque said during a press briefing.
(I do not see anything wrong with it because it is a Christmas bonus. It is not a requirement under the law.)
“Ang requirement po para sa mga taong gobyerno ay 13th and 14th month pay. Dahil discretionary po ang Christmas bonus, pupwedeng gamitin po ‘yan kabahagi ng incentive para makapag-bakuna ang marami sa atin,” he explained. /rcg
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