‘Ghosts’ and patrons in government halls

WHAT is most frightening about the phenomenon of ‘ghost’ employees is that it is old and continues to thrive healthily.

In May 1966, The Sunday PUNCH founder Ermin Garcia Sr. was shot in his office after a Lingayen councilor tried to stop the publication of a story about a ‘ghost payroll’ in the town, which evidently was perpetrated by the councilor. The ‘ghost payroll’ takes its literal form from the practice wherein names of dead government employees, either permanent or casual, continue to be listed in the monthly payroll and distributed until they are discovered.

But the ‘ghosts’ also more commonly refer to appointed casual employees who merely appear at the cashier’s window on the 15th and 30th days to collect salaries without proof of work — becoming part of the ‘ghost payroll’ — as being suspected in Urdaneta today.

These ‘ghosts’ walk the halls of government offices both at the national and local levels.

Appointment of casual employees is now the hallmark of political patronage. It’s a form of payback for the winning candidate as campaign supporters are given employment not based on a local government’s administrative requirements or needed skills but simply on loyalty and servitude.

While some casual employees have proven to be assets, many conveniently join the ranks of ‘ghost’ employees, given an arrangement that the ‘sponsoring politician’ gets a hefty percentage of the monthly salary. Politicians also gain by ensuring their re-election through the continued support of the ‘ghosts’ who in turn can count on a re-appointment to their phantom positions.

The cycle is vicious and does nothing but bleed government coffers of funds – public money that could be put to more productive use by financing projects that will spur economic activity, such as improving infrastructure or introducing sustainable livelihood programs.

We are cheering on Mayor Amadeo Perez Jr. in his hunt for the ‘ghosts’. But it is not enough to simply terminate the contracts of the casual employees. The politician-patron should also be busted by being made accountable for such a corrupt practice. The bigger task is to ensure that the whole phenomenon is put to a stop.

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