Archival to bring back floating disaster response personnel

Local

CEBU City Mayor Nestor Archival Sr. is open to reappointing disaster response personnel affected by the city’s employment freeze.

He said there is “no problem” with the matter, however, as long as the hires are “justified and deemed critical" by department heads.

“Sure, ato nang tan-awon. Wala tay problema ana,” Archival said on Monday, July 21, in response to a proposed resolution by Councilor Jun Alcover urging the reappointment of trained personnel under the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO).

The mayor clarified that while the city is enforcing a “No Appointment, No Work” policy, the hiring freeze does not rule out reappointing essential staff, especially for life-saving services, on a “case-by-case basis.”

“Kana man gyung mga critical personnel, ato gyud na i-case-to-case basis. Ug kinahanglan i-hire, no problem na basta kinahanglan jud,” Archival said. “[However], naa gihapon filtering na mahitabo, especially sa JOs (job order workers).”

Alcover’s resolution is scheduled for discussion during the City Council’s regular session on Tuesday, July 22.

It requests the Office of the Mayor to allow the renewal of CCDRRMO personnel as recommended by the department head, Retired Gen. Aderson Comar.

“These personnel were trained at the city’s expense. They are skilled and experienced in life-saving operations. Not renewing their appointments weakens our disaster response capacity,” Alcover stated in the resolution.

He warned that sidelining trained responders undermines the city's compliance with national laws like Republic Act 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, which mandates proactive and organized disaster preparedness.

The CCDRRMO has long trained its personnel under city-funded programs to boost preparedness and community safety. However, the current freeze in hiring and reappointments has left several of them jobless, despite their specialized training and experience.

Comar earlier submitted a list of qualified but non-renewed personnel to the mayor, expressing concern over the office’s dwindling operational capacity.

The resolution seeks an exemption from the freeze for these roles, emphasizing their importance in protecting life and property during disasters.

Archival earlier explained that the “No Appointment, No Work” policy, which took effect on July 1, is part of the city’s efforts to contain a looming multi-billion-peso budget deficit.

Only departments delivering essential services, such as health, sanitation, and childcare, have been prioritized for personnel renewal.

As of mid-July, only around 1,400 casual workers had been rehired out of more than 8,500 city personnel, leaving most job order workers under review.

The Human Resource Development Office (HRDO) reaffirmed that no unsolicited applications or external endorsements will be processed unless endorsed by the mayor or authorized department heads.(TGP)