Umapad Barangay Councilor Libertine Lumapas speaks during a press conference on Monday, Oct. 28. | CDN Digital photo / Mary Rose Sagarino
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – Umapad Barangay Councilor Libertine Lumapas has denied claims that politics was behind her decision not to sign the payroll of 120 barangay job order employees.
Lumapas, the chairperson of the barangay’s Committee on Budget and Appropriations, said that she was merely following government regulations in the disbursement of government funds to avoid disallowance by the Commission on Audit (COA).
At least 120 barangay job order employees, including tanods, clean and green personnel, and lupon members, have not received their pay since January because of her alleged refusal to sign their payrolls.
READ: Umapad workers protest 10 months of unpaid salaries
In a press conference on Monday, October 28, Lumapas sought the understanding of the affected employees.
“Di ko against sa mga trabahante og dili pod ko supak nga sweldohan sila. Nasayod ko sa kalisod sa adlaw-adlaw nga pakigbisog sa katawhan. Unta paminawon usab akong side kay mura man og gipagawas nga akong gilisod lisod ang pagrelease sa sweldo,” she said.
READ: Barangay Umapad workers decry case dismissal against Councilor Lumapas
Lumapas was joined by her seven ally councilors during the press conference.
Hiring process
While she feels sorry for the unpaid employees, Lumapas said that she can’t sign their payrolls because their hiring was ‘defective’ in the first place. She claimed that Barangay Captain Reb Cortes, who is an ally of suspended Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes, did not follow the proper hiring process.
READ: Umapad councilor faces charges over unpaid salaries
“Isip public servant, ako adunay katungdanan nga sundon ang balaod bisan usahay, sama sa nahitabo karun, gigamit ang akong pagsunod sa mando sa balaod ug rules isip atake sa ako’ng pagkatawo,” said Lumapas, whose husband Zaldy lost to Cortes in the October 2023 barangay elections.
As a procedure, Lumapas said that newly hired employees should be presented to the barangay council for their concurrence before they should be allowed to report for work.
READ: Mandaue City to help embattled workers of Barangay Umapad
In addition, barangay officials have to make sure that there is enough allocation to pay their salaries.
Lumapas said that the barangay resolution that authorizes the hiring of the 120 employees was only passed in September. With this, she is now working for the processing of their payrolls so they could already get paid.
However, Lumapas clarified that the computation of their pays will not be retroacted to January. These will be computed starting September, which is the official start of their employment.
Political differences?
Meanwhile, Lumapas has denied claims that her political difference with barangay captain Cortes was the reason for her earlier refusal to sign the employees’ payrolls.
She said that while there were questions on the hiring process, Cortes also failed to submit all the documentary requirements for the payment of their salaries.
For example, the Daily Time Records (DTR) that the employees submitted lacked the signature of their barangay captain.
“Tinood dili ni akong kwarta ingon pa nila, pero ang gimando sa balaod nga dili magpataka ug gamit sa public funds. Mao nga naniguro lang pud intawn ko kay kung ako masayop, ako man pod ang adunay tulubagon sa husgado. Dili kini pamolitika,” she said.
Earlier, five unpaid Umapad employees filed a criminal complaint against Lumapas before the Mandaue City Prosecutor’s Office. But the complaint was dismissed for lack of merit.
The Mandaue City Prosecutor said that Lumapas “acted in good faith” when she refused to sign their payrolls citing a COA Circular and the need for a Sangguniang Barangay concurrence, a requirement that is stipulated in the Local Government Code.
Annual Budget
Meanwhile, Lumapas said that their opposition-dominated barangay council passed last July 5 their 2024 budget amounting to P23 million.
But they could not yet use the said budget which has remained pending at the Mandaue City Budget Office. To date, they continue to wait for the issuance of a certification by DILG-Mandaue for the approval of their Gender and Development plan.
Until their 2024 budget is approved and is ready for use, they will continue to reenact the barangay’s 2023 budget this year.