The Umapad barangay hall. | CDN Digital photo / Mary Rose Sagarino
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – At least 80 employees of Brgy. Umapad in Mandaue City are yet to receive their salaries for the last five months or since January this year.
These include barangay tanods, clean and green personnel, lupon members, and drivers, among others, who said that they had been borrowing money for their daily needs.
One employee, who asked not to be named, said that she would sometimes cry because of her financial problems.
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“Grabe ang kalisod [nga] amoang nasugamak ron. Mohilak na gyud ko kay duha kabuok akong mo-graduate. Naa pa koy bata nga nagtutoy, seven months. Lisoda gyud [nga] walay sweldo, Bisan kinsa nalang amoa hulman,” she said.
In addition, a barangay tanod said that he is now having second thoughts about reporting to work.
“Madiscourage gyud panagsa pero kayanon [na lang] kay naa man tay pamilya,” he said.
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Both employees expressed hope that the issue on their pay will be resolved the soon.
Reenacted budget
Barangay Captain Reb Cortes said that the payroll for their employees salaries could not be processed because this is yet to signed by the Councilor Libertine Lumapas, the chairperson of the Committee on Appropriations.
Cortes said their barangay is currently operating using a reenacted budget or their 2023 allocation after the proposed budget for 2024 was not approved by members of their opposition-dominated barangay council.
Only two of the eight elected barangay councilors are allied with Cortes.
He said that the salaries of the 80 employees should have been paid using their reenacted budget.
They have not also implemented any new projects because these are not covered by funding from their reenacted budget.
“Nahinder gihapon atoang service. Wala tay service nga mahimo. Ang ako ra kung adunay problema, pirmahanan, husayunon, makapamarayg ko sa city. Mao ra gyud ako dagananan para makatabang ko,” he added.
Cortes said that the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has already authorized the release of the salaries of their barangay employees through a letter that the agency sent him.
Moreover, the accounting office at the Mandaue City Hall has also advised him to just prepare their Daily Time Record (DTR) and appointment papers for the processing of their pays.
Irregularities
For her part, Lumapas mentioned of some “irregularities” in the barangay’s payroll, the reason for her refusal to sign said document.
“While it is my passion to help the residents of Barangay Umapad, it is essential that all actions remain within legal rules. The issue at hand arose due to the irregularities in the appointment of the said Workers by the Punong Barangay and delays on their compliance of the requirements which are mandated by the Commission on Audit,” she said in a text message that she sent to CDN Digital.
“I am confident that the actions taken as the Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations are in accordance to our laws,” she added.
Cortes admitted that there was a losing candidate for barangay councilor under his slate that he hired to work at the barangay hall after the October 2023 barangay and sangguniang kabataan elections.
“Unsa may problema ana nga para nako makatabang man,” he said.
Still, Cortes said that he was willing to sit down and talk to opposition councilors privately to resolve the concern on their employees pay.