DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/16 March) — Around 3,000 city government employees will receive P20,000 each from the second supplemental budget that the city council aims to pass this month, an official said.
Speaking at Monday’s Kapehan sa SM, city council finance committee chair Danilo Dayanghirang said the amount will benefit employees who are part of the collective negotiating agreement with the city government.
Dayanghirang explained this is similar to a signing bonus being given to workers in private companies.
He said among those who will receive P20,000 are city council employees whose positions are co-terminus with those of councilors they work for.
He, however, said his committee was still waiting for the exact amount of the supplemental budget.
City officials have recently been careful with funds for projects as well as for donations after the Commission on Audit advised the local government against donating to the families of the police commandos who were killed in the Mamasapano clash last Jan. 25.
At Sunday’s episode of Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa, Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte said there could be additional funding for breath analyzing equipment to be given to the city’s road safety agencies like the Traffic Management Center.
However, Duterte said the P5.8 billion budget for 2015 was already outlined last year.
Each breath analyzing kit costs around P10,000 according to Duterte.
“If the mayor prioritizes the equipment, there is funding for that,” Dayanghirang said.
The finance committee chair said the city could fund the purchase of the equipment through another supplemental budget.
Dayanghirang said Duterte instructed city officials to always be mindful of auditing rules by the COA.
The city council recently authorized Duterte to sign on behalf of the city government a P600-million loan agreement with the Land Bank of the Philippines for the waste management system.
Dayanghirang said that among the priorities of the city government were social services, including a P150-million scholarship program for the city’s 20,000 scholars from elementary to college.
The scholars include the children of the victims of the 2002 Sasa Wharf and Airport bombings. (MindaNews)
