The city’s Local Finance Committee (LFC) takes pride in the sourcing out of funds for the payment of the benefits and privileges due to the officials and employees of the city government despite financial constraints.
City Budget Officer Leticia O. Clemente said that the LFC was able to promptly provide funds for the payment of the performance-based bonus of 65 percent of the monthly salary to all officials and employees as a result of the city’s adherence to the good financial housekeeping parameters of the inter-agency task force headed by the Department of Budget and Management and the Department of the Interior and Local government.
Just before the holiday season break, the city budget officer disclosed that the P20,000 service recognition incentive (SRI) per directive of the Office of the President was also released to the qualified officials and employees of the local government.
However, she claimed that the city government is still awaiting guidelines from the budget department relative to the one-time rice assistance to be granted to officials and employees.
Clemente added that the LFC has also obligated the funding requirement for the Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA) of the employees which will be due for payment this month.
According to her, with the guidance of the local legislative body, the LFC was able to look for sources of funds to implement the 4th tranche of the salary increase for officials and employees this year but the same was done with some trade-offs.
She pointed out that many third to sixth class local governments do not have the luxury as the city, thus, city officials and employees should count their blessings and be content.
With grateful hearts and humility in spirit, Clemente expressed her gratitude to her colleagues, for the respect and trust all these years, and paid tribute and her profound gratitude to her assistant, Severina de Leon, who opted to retire earlier than the mandatory age of retirement.
The city government department head explained that she (de Leon) may have had some predicament but she was one who doesn’t compromise work despite anger or dismay.
“It was a meaningful and fruitful partnership in the service, an ally and loyal friend, a change maker and a true guardian of public funds making sure that the government funds are well spent. She has shown competence to do assigned task over and beyond the regular functions of our office and a very dependable partner, she was there in trying moments and when I needed her most, and when the Association of City Executives (ACEx) needed her most, who made a big sacrifice at the height of the pandemic, she volunteered to take charge of the ACEx kitchen to feed our volunteers, she did the marketing assisted by the police, for more than a month, if only to save the city an amount of almost P1.5 million on food,” Clemente stressed.
She thanked de Leon for her excellent service and being an asset to the organization and that she will keep her promise to still help out even without charge.
