Lawyer: Mayor should sign all consultancy contracts

CEBU, Philippines - Mayor Michael Rama, and no one else, should sign all consultancy contracts for the Cebu City Government even if the consultant works for the legislative department, according to City Legal Officer Joseph Bernaldez.

That, as a lawyer at Cebu City Legal Office opined that tanods can work as job order employees of the City without being held liable for double compensation.

Bernaldez issued the statement after Rama sought his opinion on whether it should be the mayor’s signature in all consultancy contracts, including those for members of the City Council.

Bernaldez cited section 20 of Republic Act 3857 or the Cebu City Charter, which provides that the duties and responsibilities of the mayor include: “to represent the city in all its business matters and sign in its behalf all its bonds, contracts and obligations made in accordance with the laws or ordinances.”

The same provision of law is also provided in Section 455 (b) (1) vi of the Local Government Code.

“It can, therefore, be easily gleaned from the foregoing provisions that the city mayor is the primary official who can execute and sign all consultancy contracts on behalf of the city, considering that the mayor is the head of the procuring entity,” Bernaldez said,

According to Bernaldez, the authority of the mayor is applicable to all consultancy contracts whether the consultant is to be hired for the executive or the legislative department.

At present, if the consultant is for the vice mayor and councilors, it is the vice mayor who signs their contract. The documents, though, pass through the Bids and Awards Committee before these are forwarded to the City Council for concurrence.

As for the tanods, there is no double compensation if they work for the City as job order worker, said City Attorney III Carlo Vincent Gimena.

Gimena said this when sought for comments on whether double compensation will apply to a barangay tanod in Kamputhaw who is working as a City Hall job order worker.

While Romeo Oljol, a tanod in barangay Kamputhaw, works for the barangay, the legal department said a job worker is not considered an employee in view of the provisions of Section 1 and 2 of the Civil Service Commission Memorandum Circular No. 40, series of 1998.

Gimena said the contract of service or job orders need not be submitted to the commission as their services rendered are not considered government service. Furthermore, they do not enjoy benefits enjoyed by government employees.

Section 95 of the Local Government Code states that “no elective or appointive public officer or employee shall receive additional, double or indirect compensation, unless specifically authorized by law, nor accept without the consent of the Congress, any present emolument, office or title of any kind from any foreign government.”

But Gimena stressed that there is no employer-employee relationship between Oljol and the city.

“Taking into account that Mr. Oljol’s function as a barangay tanod in Kamputhaw and as a job worker are totally different from each other, indubitably means that there is no double compensation,” Gimena stressed.

While he receives honorarium from the barangay and the city, Gimena said this is nit double compensation as honorarium can be validly considered as a “gratuity for services rendered” and not salary or wage.

However, Gimena reminded Oljol that to avoid conflict of interest, his work schedule as a tanod should not be utilized for the performance of his responsibilities as a job order worker at the city government and vice versa.

Bernaldez agreed with Gimena’s opinion. (FREEMAN)