Punchline
Overtime pay – for staff or councilors?
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
THERE is more than meets the eye in the demand of Dagupan Councilors Red Erfe-Mejia and Alfie Fernandez to make the city hall cough up another P270,000 in addition to the P1,600,000 already paid out as overtime pay to 12 “overworked” employees at the city council ostensibly for the codification of the ordinances since 2014.
First of all, the codification of the city’s ordinances is obviously a work in progress. There is no target date for its completion except that perhaps Vice Mayor Brian Lim wants it completed before he bows out as vice mayor. (Strangely, codification of laws is not an ordinary administrative work that can be done by non-lawyers).
Then, only Vice Mayor Lim dictates the pace of work to be done on the codification. So the question is: Does anyone know, between the two councilors and Vice Mayor Lim, how much work has been done since P1.6-M in overtime pay have been paid since 2014?? Is there any record of who worked the “hardest and the longest overtime” among the employees? Can they show and explain what they had done all these 23 months?? That’s an average of P133,333 in overtime pay for each of the 12, over a 23-month period. In private companies, anyone who earns that much in overtime pay must have worked his/her ass off for the boss! And with the help of technology, it should not be difficult to produce what the 12 have to show as output! But there is none to show.
In the absence of any proof of work, the claimed codification can already be likened to charging costs for dredging operations of the Pantal River. There is constant claim about dredging but nobody knows for sure how much dredging had been done because the proof is under water!
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In fairness to the 12 employees, we can grant that they were fully and well compensated for actual work done. All they need to do is print out their output. Since the proof lies in the documentation, it won’t take a rocket scientist to know whether work on the codification project merited P1.6-M in overtime pay!
By simply demanding an additional amount for overtime pay for the “overworked” staff, the two councilors have placed an additional undue burden on the 12 employees to show proof that they deserve to be paid another P270,000 (or P22,500 each) after being paid P1.6-M amount of work.
So, will Vice Mayor Lim and Councilors Erfe-Mejia and Alfie Fernandez carry the burden of showing proof that the 12 “diligent” workers deserve to be paid more in overtime pay? Will they present an accomplishment report on the codification project, that shows time targets with which to accomplish the mission with the needed corresponding budget for overtime pay. This is a basic principle in management – no work, no pay!
Meanwhile, what cannot happen is for councilors to simply hold a supplemental budget or the annual budget hostage simply on the say-so of a few who feel they don’t have to justify anything to the taxpayers for any money they demand for others - and for themselves.
At any rate, it’s just as well that the demanded overtime was not granted without the required proof of work output. So let me ask some questions about it since Messrs. Erfe-Mejia and Fernandez brought up the issue: Is it possible that the employees were made to claim overtime even for work they didn’t do? Or that the employees were paid the correct amount for actual overtime rendered but which were far less than what they were made to claim? If so, who are the city officials who collected the difference? Just wondering… really!
It’d be interesting to hear what the 12 SP employees have to say about the true inside story in their claim for overtime pay!
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DE VENECIA AGAIN? Here’s a reaction from PUNCH reader Isabel Viray to our item on Toff de Venecia, substituting for her mom, Manay Gina de Venecia in the 4th District.
“This refers to your column of December 13, 2015. I beg to disagree with your endorsement of subject as Congressman of our District. Jose De Venecia together with his wife have been our representative for so long , if my memory is right, Jose de Venecia and family have been there for more or less half a century.
Let’s give others a chance to represent our district.”
First of all, it is not true that the De Venecias have lorded it over in the district in the past 5 decades. Even assuming for the sake of argument that Joe de V and Manay Gina had served the longest, they were legitimately elected, not appointed. They presented themselves to the electorate and they were accepted on separate periods.
Her statement “Let’s give others a chance to represent our district” seems to imply that the De Venecias should stop seeking the position in order to give others a chance. It is a proposition I cannot agree with because the premise is not correct.
I believe the De Venecias are the first to concede that they don’t have political monopoly of the district, and it is the electorate that decides who should lead them, not their family. In fact, it will be recalled that when then former Duty-Free General Manager Benjamin S. Lim threw his hat into the district race in 1998 against a De Venecia, he won and the late Tessie de Venecia lost. Note: Speaker De Venecia was the incumbent congressman at that time and was a candidate for president.
In the case of Toff, anyone’s endorsement doesn’t really count at this stage. He, like the other candidates, still has to convince the electorate that he is the best choice because he is not Manay Gina who has proven herself as a public servant. In the same vein, the other candidates have to show their mettle, that he or she is more capable than Toff.
Bottom line? Toff can win or lose his bid and his fate lies in the hands of the electorate in the 4th District. He’s taking the same risks like everyone else. So the only way Ms. Viray can hope to see a congressman other than a De Venecia is to campaign hard for another candidate. It’s what democracy is all about.
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COMMON ENEMY. The biggest wonder of all wonders today is why only the men and women behind Daang Matuwid appear to be the only folks who don’t think the drug problem is a cause for major national concern!
Worse, there is only one presidential candidate who has made war vs. drug lords as a priority platform for his government should he win, and that’s Davao City Mayor Rody Duterte! There’s not been a pipsqueak about it from either VP Jojo Binay, Grace Poe or Sen. Miriam Santiago. I wonder if they even have the slightest idea about the drug problem is beyond what’s reported in the media about millions worth of shabu being seized in buy-bust operations of PDEA and the PNP.
But read this! The NPA, MNLF and MILF found a dangerous common enemy besides the government. – illegal drugs!
As news reports have it, the communist & Moro rebels have launched separate campaigns against illegal drugs in areas where they operate.
The NPA even started executing suspected drug suspects whom they have warned but defied these. In Compostela Valley, suspected NPA rebels reportedly executed 4 people last week for their involvement in the illegal drug trade.
In Cotabato City, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) also directed its field commanders to wage war on shabu in Maguindanao and in areas covered by the government and the MILF ceasefire agreement. The MILF already put up anti-drug campaign posters around Maguindanao reminding residents that “illegal drug is the root of all evil.” The MILF said it has reason to stop the drug trade because drug use & addiction are considered “haram” or forbidden.
How long will Malacañang, VP Binay, Senators Poe and Santiago, and Mr. Roxas keep their heads buried in the sand?
(For your comments and reactions, please email to: punch.sunday@gmail.com)
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