JV Ejercito calls out San Juan’s Zamora for delaying terminal leave pay of LGU retirees
February 28, 2023
Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito called out
San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora for withholding the terminal leave pay of several
retirees from the city government.
In a privilege speech, the lawmaker from San
Juan said he was approached by around 20 retired employees, who complained
about their terminal leave pay being “held hostage” by Zamora.
“Noong naglilingkod pa ang mga nabanggit na
retired employees ng San Juan ay hindi sila namili ng mga tutulungan at
pagsisilbihan, ano man ang partido o grupo na kinabibilangan ng
nangangailangan. Dahil ganoon naman po dapat, hindi po ba? Ngunit noong sila po
ang nagretiro, mistulang tiningnan at minasama ang kanilang mabuting ugnayan sa
aming pamilya,” he said.
“Tumindig po ako ngayon hindi na lamang para
sa mga inaping retired employees ng San Juan City Hall, kundi para na rin sa
lahat ng mga kawani na pinagkaitang matanggap kung ano ang nararapat para sa
kanila,” he added.
Ejercito, who served as Mayor of San Juan from
2001 to 2010, lamented that some of these retirees spent around two to three
decades serving in the city government.
“Mga dalaga’t binata pa po sila noong sila’y
pumasok at nagsimula ng kanilang career sa local government service. Sa City
Hall na po naligawan ang iba sa kanila at nakapag-asawa. Doon na rin po sila
tumanda,” he said.
Ejercito said the withholding of their
terminal leave pay is a potential violation of Republic Act No. 10154, which
requires government agencies to release retirement benefits within 30 days from
the actual retirement of an employee.
In the face of Zamora’s inaction on their
grievances, the lawmaker and the said retirees, some of whom spent around two
to three decades working for the city government, have filed separate
complaints before the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Anti-Red Tape
Authority (ARTA).
However, years after they were filed, these
complaints have yet to be resolved.
Ejercito said his speech was delivered in aid
of legislation “to ensure the proper enforcement and implementation of civil
service rules and strengthen the powers of the CSC so that affected employees
can have speedy redress of their grievances.”
Meanwhile, Senate President Juan Miguel
Zubiri, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, and Senator Raffy Tulfo rallied
behind Ejercito and the aggrieved retirees.
“Every opportunity that I may have to see the
Mayor of San Juan, kaibigan din naman natin siya, I’ll mention it to him. But
the speech will be directed to a particular committee so that it can be taken
up and the facts can be heard,” Zubiri said.
“This is not just for the City of San Juan but
also for the whole government, the entire country, for every single city,
province, and municipality,” Villanueva said.
“It’s about time na siguro na pag-isipan kung
paano magiging strikto yung implementation ng batas laban sa panggigipit sa
terminal leave (pay) ng mga empleyado,” Tulfo said.
