Regal Oliva donates 13th-month pay to unpaid Umapad barangay workers
Former Mandaue City Treasurer Regal Oliva hands over a check representing her final 13th-month pay to Umapad Barangay Captain Reb Cortes. / Photo by Mary Rose Sagarino
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – Former Mandaue City Treasurer Atty. Regal Oliva has donated her 13th-month pay worth P125,000 to the barangay workers of Umapad, who have not received their salaries for eight months, covering the period from January to August last year.
Oliva handed the full amount to Umapad Barangay Captain Reb Cortes at the Barangay Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
“We have so many blessings, and then akoang nadawat was not accounted for sa akoang pagbudget. Para nako, it was a wake-up call. Maybe this would be better for people who need it more,” said Oliva.
Oliva stepped down as city treasurer after filing her Certificate of Candidacy to run for Congress in October last year, representing the lone district of Mandaue.
Capt. Cortes expressed his gratitude to Oliva, saying that the donation will provide relief to the workers, who are eagerly anticipating assistance.
Last year, dismissed Mayor Jonas Cortes also donated one month’s salary to the workers.
Among the beneficiaries, 52-year-old Celso Montero, the barangay’s ambulance driver, shared that the amount will be of great help as he plans to use it to buy rice for his family. He remains hopeful that their honorariums from January to August will eventually be paid.
To recall, the 130 barangay workers in Umapad, Mandaue City, only received their monthly honoraria for the months of September to December, while the services rendered from January to August remain unpaid. Currently, only 103 workers are still active, with some leaving for private sector jobs due to the lack of payment.
The delay in salary disbursement stemmed from allegations that Barangay Councilor Libertine Lumapas, who chairs the finance committee, refused to sign the payroll.
In a previous interview, Lumapas defended her decision, stating that she was adhering to the law, as the appointments of the employees did not receive the required concurrence approval from the barangay council.
The barangay council is dominated by opposition members, with only one of the eight elected barangay councilors allied with Cortes.
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