Cebu City employees ‘may not’ receive Charter Day bonus on Feb 24

Mayor Michael Rama says 'it is better late than never'

The Cebu City Hall glows at night. | CDN Digital photo by Rick Gabuya

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebu City employees may not receive the promised Charter Day bonus on February 24, as the final amount is still to be deliberated.

Ten days have passed since the announcement of the promised Charter Day bonus of P25,000, and no final date of its release have been issued.

This was after Cebu City Councilor Noel Wenceslao, the chairman of the committee on budget and finance, said on Thursday, February 22, that they have yet to receive any proposal from the City Council regarding the charter day bonus.

“Wala pajud nihatag ug [formal] proposal ang Sanggunian so nagpaabot rami,” he said.

READ: Charter Day bonus: City Hall workers may get P25,000 incentive

Wenceslao added that they cannot confirm any amount yet because the drafting of the proposal is still ongoing. However, he hopes that the council can submit it this week.

“Wala pa gyud amount kay ilaha pang gi craft ang proposal. Hopefully basin tomorrow kay tomorrow is the last day of submission man.”

Vice Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia explained the reason behind the delay of the submission of the proposal for the Charter Day bonus.

He said that it is because the proposal will be submitted through a supplemental budget which will also include other expenditures apart from that of the bonus.

“What I also know, it will be a supplemental budget that will also include other items not only the Charter Day. Mao bitaw nadugay na kay taas man gud ang process,” Garcia said.

He also added that the exact amount of the bonus for the employees cannot be confirmed as it has “not been tackled” yet by the council.

“Not until I receive the supplemental budget coming from the office of the Mayor, di pagyud ko makasigurado pilay amount sa job order and pilay amount sa regular employees,” Garcia said.

READ: Charter Day bonus for gov’t employees may be more than P25k

When asked about the possibility of the employees receiving the Charter Day bonus beyond the event itself, the Vice Mayor affirmed that the Sangguniang Panlungsod “has to act on it”.

Meanwhile, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said during his press conference on Wednesday, February 21 that the Charter Day bonus is possible as long as it will be brought on “Sanggunian involvement” by the Local Finance Committee (LFC).

He also acknowledged that the employees might not receive the bonus on the day as it is expected.

“It is better late than never,” Rama remarked.

READ: DBM: P69.4B out for gov’t workers’ year-end bonus, cash gift