Incentives for brgy secretary, treasurer

CEBU, Philippines - All secretaries and treasurers of the 80 barangays in Cebu City will be receiving a monthly allowance of P2,000 beginning this year.

Barangay captains and councilmen will likewise continue to receive their monthly allowance of P5,000 and P3,000, respectively.

In an order issued by Mayor Michael Rama establishing the guidelines on the release of the incentives, the mayor ordered that the release shall be processed on a quarterly basis subject to accounting rules and procedures.

Incentives may still be processed after the deadline but only in the event of “extraordinary circumstance.”

The city government has appropriated P32 million for the purpose.

Of this amount, P4.8 million is for incentives of barangay captains for 12 months, P23.04 million for incentives of 640 barangay councilmen, including Sangguniang Kabataan chairmen, and P3.8 million for incentives of barangay secretaries and treasurers.

The incentives will be released through the Barangay Affairs Unit of the Office of the Mayor.

To recall, barangay secretaries and treasurers requested Rama to include them in the incentive program, considering that barangay captains have acknowledged their crucial role in operations in the barangay. Secretaries and treasurers lay down the groundwork for the barangay council.

The secretaries asked for a P3,000 monthly incentive equivalent to the incentive of barangay councilmen. The available budget of the city government, however, can only allow P2,000 a month.

Last year, all barangay captains and councilmen received their incentives retroactive to January 2011.

No budget was appropriated for barangay secretaries and treasurers last year because their request came after the City Council approved the Supplemental Budget. They were assured inclusion into the incentive scheme this year. — (FREEMAN)