Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama during a press conference on November 29, 2021 | Photo from Cebu City PIO Live Video
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama is giving City Hall employees one last chance to get vaccinated so they can get their Christmas bonus this year.
The Cebu City Council has recently approved the Supplemental Budget No. 2 (SB2) that contains appropriations for the bonuses of regular and casual employees.
However, the distribution of the bonuses will still remain with the discretion of the mayor. Rama said that he would stay true to his word that all employees must be vaccinated so they could all get bonuses.
The bonuses should be released before Christmas, most likely on or around the Christmas party of the City Hall on December 17, 2021. Until then, the employees are given the last chance to get vaccinated.
“We are now coming, we will take it one after another. In the days to come, we will listen to those who do not want to get vaccinated. If they have the requirement nga dili gyod sila mahimo magpavaccinate, okay. Pero katong dili lang gyod by way of idiosyncracy, ato gyod nang istoryahon,” said Rama.
(We are now coming, we will take it one after another. In the days to come, we will listen to those who do not want to get vaccinated. If they have the requirement that they cannot get vaccinated, then okay, but those, who don’t want to get vaccinated by way of unreasonable behavior, then we will talk to them.)
The mayor wants all unvaccinated employees traced so he can gather them and talk to them personally why they do not want the vaccine.
He said he believed that there was still a way to convince them to get vaccinated. Only when all of these means are exhausted will he make a decision regarding their bonus.
If until December 17, these individuals still will refuse to get vaccinated, it is most likely that they will not be released the bonuses at all.
As for other employees, who are already vaccinated, Rama is considering the manner of the bonus release according to their vaccination status.
The mayor reiterates that the city government wants a fully vaccinated City Hall especially since based on the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF), unvaccinated workers may not be able to work on site, which will reduce the operational capacity of the City Hall.
He appeals to them to forego their fears and get the vaccine so they can be protected from the COVID-19.
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