CEBU, Philippines — Former Mandaue City Treasurer and lawyer Regal Oliva turned over her last 13th month pay to Umapad Barangay Captain Reb Cortes yesterday.
A total of103 barangay workers will share the donation, amounting to P125,000, as they have not received their honoraria from January to August last year.
The workers, composed of barangay tanods, Clean and Green personnel, lupon members, and drivers, will each receive more than P1,000.
Oliva, who stepped down from her position to run for Congress representing Mandaue City’s lone district, said she did not expect to receive the 13th month pay and considered it a “windfall.” She added that it was better to use it as assistance for people who need it more.
“This is unexpected man gud maybe the barangay people in Umapad need this more…maybe that would have been better for people who need it more,” Oliva told reporters yesterday.
Oliva shared that the issue in Umapad regarding the honorarium can be resolved if political differences are set aside.
The former treasurer hopes that politics should not be the focus or obstruct the services that have been rendered as it would be unfair to those affected workers.
“Because you belong to different party mao ra na inyong rason nga inyong babagan ang usa ka butang nga importante kaayo,” said Oliva.
Cortes, on the other hand, said that initially, there were 135 unpaid employees. The number has decreased to 103, as many employees opted to work to the private sector because of the challenges of working without compensation.
Oliva said it is unjust for the barangay workers to go unpaid because of politics.
“So, I hope they will mend their fences and then they can already find ways to pay off what services have been rendered,” Oliva said.
Cortes thanked Oliva for the donation, saying this will greatly help the affected workers.
The issue on unpaid salaries from January to August 2024 is still unresolved, with the employees waiting for a decision from the Office of the Ombudsman.
Cortes clarified that there were no issues with the budget. The delay happened because the chairman of the committee on appropriations failed to sign the payroll.
“Nagpapirma mi niya og voucher para sa account payables pero wala man siya mo pirma,” said Cortes.
Cortes said that the chairperson of the committee on appropriations only signed for one person who worked as the barangay bookkeeper.
Cortes said it's unfair to the remaining 102 workers if only one person is paid for the services rendered from January to August.
Cortes said they are just waiting for a legal opinion from the Department of the Interior and Local Government to determine if retroactive payment is possible.
The situation has been ongoing since 2024, when the finance committee chairperson of the barangay, Councilwoman Libertine Lumapas, declined to sign the payroll for the period from January to August.
In a previous statement, Lumapas justified her refusal by stating that the appointments of the concerned employees were not approved by the majority of the Umapad Barangay Council.
The barangay workers were only given their salaries covering the months from September to December 2024.
Celso Montero, an ambulance driver for the barangay, shared that it was a tough situation to go without a salary from January to August.
With the amount given by Oliva, Montero expressed his gratitude, saying that he would use it to buy rice for his family.
“Dako kaayo na'g tabang sa amoang mga panginahanglanon diri sa mga trabahante sa barangay. Nagpasalamat gyud mi og dako ni Atty. Regal nga iya gyud ming gitagaan og higayon sa iyang gitrabahoan iya ming gihatagan og gahin sa iyang panginabuhi,” said Montero.
He hopes that their unpaid 8-month honorarium will finally be released.
“Amo man nang gitrabahoan. Wala man sad na nag ingon nga nagtanga ra mi diri sa barangay. Sinabtanay lang gud ta kay nanarbaho man ta sa tinarong wala man mi nagbinuang sa among trabaho,” said Montero. — (FREEMAN)