Employees warned vs donations, solicitations for Christmas parties

CEBU, Philippines - Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes warned all City Hall's regular and job order employees not to accept donations or solicit money for their coming Christmas parties next month.

He likewise prohibited the employees from conducting caroling, saying such should only be done for worthwhile causes and not to raise funds for the employees' Christmas parties.

According to him, the city government has allocated enough budget to host a Christmas party for all the employees and it is no longer practical for them to have separate parties in their own offices.

In fact, the mayor added that such practices were also forbidden when his father, Demetrio Cortes Sr., was the mayor of the city.

"I still discourage them anang mga butanga because that will lead to corruption," Cortes said.

Employees who were found to have solicited cash or goods will be dealt with accordingly, he added.

Meanwhile, Edwin Ermac, head of the Traffic Enforcement Agency in Mandaue (TEAM) said he already warned all traffic enforcers beforehand not to accept donations or make solicitations for their upcoming Christmas party. (FREEMAN)