Cebu City employee sacked for 3rd time

CEBU CITY — Mayor Tomas Osmeña has ordered the city administrator to conduct termination proceedings against a City Hall employee who was discovered to be still in the city’s payroll even after having fired twice.

Still on a trip to Belgium, Osmeña reportedly said he is issuing termination orders for Vicente Dejoras Jr. once he returns. This is the third time Osmeña has ordered Dejoras sacked.

City administrator Juan Saul Montecillo quoted Osmeña as being saddened that Dejoras has defied an order for him to tender his resignation.

"Dejoras was given a chance by the mayor to resign for him to have a graceful exit but he did not heed it," Montecillo said.

Dejoras was also advised to tender his resignation to spare him from being formally charged for alleged involvement in a string of anomalies.

Dejoras was first placed under scrutiny when he was found to be holding two positions simultaneously — as chief of the city abattoir and the anti-squatting unit.

To smoothen the irregularity, Osmeña took out Dejoras from his abattoir position and retained him as chief of the Squatters Prevention Encroachment and Elimination Division (SPEED).

In April, Dejoras was sacked as head of the anti-squatting unit after he allegedly released pirated and pornographic video compact discs which SPEED had confiscated.

What made it irregular was that the Videogram Regulatory Board has not deputized SPEED to confiscate VCDs, much more release them after confiscation.

But three days after Dejoras was sacked, Osmeña came to his defense and rehired him this time as coordinator of parish security.

But in less than six months, Dejoras was accused of taking home a government-owned air-conditioning unit.

Despite having been fired twice, a payroll statement shows that City Hall continues to release P10,535 as monthly salary to Dejoras. — Freeman News Service