City Hall execs, workers charged for holding rally
A SENIOR citizen is asking the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to dismiss from public service several Cebu City Hall officials and employees who participated in a protest rally during working hours last month.
Ernesto Adolfo, a resident of barangay Busay, filed the administrative complaint before the CSC 7 office yesterday morning.
He said the officials and employees violated a CSC resolution prohibiting concerted mass actions.
“Having held such protest/rally during working hours, the delivery of public services to the constituents were greatly put to toll and hampered. Hence, such act is considered as an illegal assembly by various rules and regulations,” Adolfo said in his 11-page complaint.
The employees held the rally during the regular session of the City Council last Oct. 7 to express support for the proposed P2.8-billion Supplemental Budget 1 (SB1), which includes P78 million as Productivity Enhancement Incentive (PEI) for City Hall employees.
Adolfo said the officials’ and employees’ act of protesting to support the approval of their PEIs is for their “personal interest.”
He said the rally violated the General Welfare clause of the Local Government Code and Republic Act 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, which states that “public officials and employees shall always uphold the public interest over and above personal interest.”
It also violated CSC Resolution No. 021316 or the Prohibited Concerted Mass Actions which was passed on October 11, 2002, he added.
Section 4 of the resolution states that the right to self-organization of employees “shall not carry with it the right to engage in any form of prohibited concerted activity or mass action causing or intending to cause work stoppage or service disruption, albeit temporary in nature.”
Section 5 of the same resolution defined prohibited mass actions to include collective activities done by employees by themselves or through their organizations “with the intent of effecting work stoppage or service disruption” to realize their demands.
“As already clearly and comprehensively explained above, the Cebu City Government personnel staged the protest/rally so as to pressure the Cebu City Council to pass SB 1 which includes the PEI, the item in the said SB 1 which directly affect herein named respondents and other John and Jane Does,” the complaint stated.
Named as defendants were 25 officials, garbage operators and crew of barangays Inayawan, Busay, Sapangdaku, Sto. Niño and Tinago; employees and staff of the Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP), Burial Assistance Office and all other Cebu City Hall employees.
Among those listed are Eduardo Rama Jr., Brandon Matas, lawyer Jade Ponce, Eunice Meting, Monette Mabanag and Florence Balungcas of the Mayor’s Office; Oscar Abordo, Kenneth Carmelita Enriquez and Joel Navasquez of the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO); and Caroline Campomanes and Collin Rossel of DWUP.
Also in the list are Engr. Rolando Ardosa of the Department of Public Services, Joelito Baclayon of the City Agriculture Department, Raquel Arce of the City Markets, Jonah John Rodriguez of COSAP, Noel Artes of GASA, Rainer Ramos of sports commission, Teofilo Rosaroso of the SIR program, Lina Santiago of CCCWPC, Teresite Jesena of the accounting office, Abbey Canturias of the business center, Katrina Mae Guantero of the burial assistance, Jed Jimenez of CHAMP, Flora Bering of DSWS and Brenda Tumarao of the city treasurer’s office.
Adolfo said he and his brother Delfin went to City Hall at around 9 a.m. of Oct. 7 and noticed the people gathered outside the building.
He added that they checked some City Hall offices and found that the DWUP and Burial Assistance Offices were both totally empty.
“While my brother was continuously taking a video, we then noticed that the television then showed the start of regular session of the Cebu City Council. While the video on the television continues, the people gathering would make chants, boos and shouts of supports to certain city councilors,” he said.
He cited the presence of Mayor Michael Rama among the protesters.
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