Comelec exemption: Garcia clarifies P35K bonus not denied, just not included

Local

CEBU City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia clarified on Thursday, April 10, that the P35,000 Charter Day bonus for regular and casual Cebu City Hall employees was not denied by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), but was simply not included in the specific petition the City Government submitted for exemption from the election spending ban.

“Ako lang iklaro…When we requested for that, wala pa to. I’m still under the assumption nga mahabol pa nato ang P35,000 kay sayo man gyud kaayo nato na gisubmit, pero wala pa gyud to mainclude,” Garcia said in an interview.

The mayor said that contrary to earlier reports, the bonus was not rejected outright by Comelec, but was left out of the petition for exemption covering over P300 million in social assistance programs that the poll body approved on March 18.

“In fact, I’m personally flying to Manila to follow up on this,” he said.

“Ang ilang kahadlokan is basin magamit ni sa vote-buying. Pero this is something we give every year. It just so happened that this year naabtan ta sa election ban,” Garcia added.

In a memorandum dated March 18, Comelec’s law department recommended approval of the exemption petition submitted by Garcia, allowing the city to roll out a wide range of public services and financial aid from March 28 to May 12, 2025, amid the election period.

Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia approved the recommendation, thereby lifting restrictions on various regular programs, including P100M in quarterly cash aid for over 93,000 senior citizens, and P50M in aid for octogenarians and nonagenarians.

Also covered are programs supporting PWDs, displaced families, fire victims, farmers, and indigent children, among others.

“AICS is designed to address urgent and unforeseen needs… Delaying this aid could worsen situations for vulnerable individuals and families,” the petition stated.

Comelec granted the exemption with stringent conditions: no distributions from May 2–12 (except medical and burial aid), no candidate participation in distributions, strict adherence to DSWD guidelines, and mandatory reporting to the Office of the Regional Election Director. Programs must not be used to influence voters.

Meanwhile, the mayor reiterated his administration’s adherence to the law despite the political implications of providing aid during campaign season.

“If I really wanted to, I could have released these without waiting for approval — pero makita man ninyo, we are following the law…I assure Cebuanos that I will always uphold and follow the law, especially during the election period,” he said.(TGP)