Council asks Garcia to release JOs unpaid service pay, wages

CEBU, Philippines —  The Cebu City Council called on outgoing Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia to release the unpaid service premium pay and salaries of job-order (JO) employees that have not been distributed since October 2024.

Councilor Noel Wenceslao, chairman of the Committee on Budget and Finance, raised this concern in a privilege speech he delivered during the Council's regular session yesterday.

As a premise, Wenceslao recalled that on May 22, 2024 the City Council approved Ordinance 2744, "An Ordinance Establishing and Instituting the Grant of Job-Order Service Premium to Job-Order Personnel in Cebu City."

For this year, Wenceslao said the City appropriated at least P50 million for the release of the service premium.

Section 4 of the ordinance provides the guidelines on the JO Service Premium, which enables all JO employees of the City of Cebu to receive a service premium pay not exceeding P5,000 in the months of May and November each year.

Wenceslao enumerated the guidelines, saying that the grant of the premium benefit shall be subjected to the declaration of propriety by the local chief executive and the availability of funds of the City of Cebu.

He added that JO personnel must have rendered at least a total or aggregate of three months of satisfactory service, as certified by their respective department heads, as of April 30 and October 31 of every year.

According to him, the rationale behind the ordinance is the fact that JO personnel play a vital role in government service, fulfilling their duties “diligently and passionately, comparable to permanent employees.”

Wenceslao said that JO employees are not entitled to mid-year and year-end bonuses, such as the 13th month pay and other benefits, and have no security of tenure, but may be allowed a premium of up to 20 percent of their salary and wages.

As provided in Section 4 of Ordinance 2744, the service incentive premium should have been released in May 2025.

“With this, I am seeking the attention of the Chief Executive, Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, to issue corresponding declaration of propriety or memorandum for the release of service incentive premium to all job-order personnel of Cebu City,” said Wenceslao.

In the same speech, Wenceslao said that he already approached Garcia twice on this matter and that the mayor  had  instructed Lawyer Kristine Batucan, Cebu City Administrator, to issue the necessary memorandum for the release of the service incentive premium.

“However, for an unspecified reason, the service incentive premium was not yet processed for release,” said Wenceslao.

He further raised another concern --- there are JO personnel who have not received their salaries because no appointments have been issued to them until now.

He said JO personnel from the Coastal Management Board (CMB), among other offices, have not been paid since October of last year.

“This representation would like to humbly request the concerned officers to see to it that the appointment of those job-order personnel be released immediately,” Wenceslao said.

During a discussion, Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera, also a member of the Committee on Budget and Finance, raised a matter where she and Wenceslao were allegedly blamed for the non-release of the JOs' salaries.

She said the councilors do not control the release of funds, but can only push for measures before the council.

“It was the highest form of ingratitude, because they blame us, when in fact, me and member Wenceslao, (moved) that the Supplemental Budget be approved in the council,” said Pesquera.

It can be recalled that after rounds of budget hearings and two waves of legislative processes, the Cebu City Council approved the proposed—but trimmed—first Supplemental Budget (SB) 1 of the year, which included the Charter Day bonuses, including those of the JO personnel.

Pesquera added she had raised the matter with Batucan, regarding the hiring of numerous JO employees allegedly without budgetary support.

As the discussion progressed, the council approved Wenceslao’s motion calling on the executive to release the JOs wages and incentives. (CEBU NEWS)