Cebu City Councilor Gerardo Carillo yesterday said he and other elected city officials, including the mayor, were qualified to receive the P20,000 individual calamity aid in 2013.
In yesterday’s resumption of the administrative hearing of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Carillo testified that they are considered regular employees of the city government when they were elected.
Complainant Reymelio Delute, shown here in a September 8, 2015 file photo with lawyer Benjamin Militar, questions whether city officials qualified as calamity victims and beneficiaries of the P20,000 cash aid.
Complainant Reymelio Delute, who filed the case against Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, Vice Mayor Edgar Labella and several city councilors, believes otherwise.
“I want to see the provision that the mayor and vice mayor and city councilors are entitled to receive P20,000. Is it in the ordinance?” Delute asked yesterday.
Carillo replied that there was no specific provision in the ordinance that states so.
But he said attached documents prepared by the City Hall’s human resources department showed that elected officials were part of the breakdown of beneficiaries of the P61 million allotted for recipients of calamity aid.
“The minutes and attachment are part of the ordinance. The minutes and attachment are submitted to the Budget and Finance departments. They are the ones who submitted the list for payroll,” Carillo said.
City Legal Officer Jerone Castillo said elective officials are considered regular employees by the Civil Service Commission and thus qualified to receive the calamity assistance.
The DILG hearings will resume on December 1.