Mandaue workers to finally receive gratuity pay

Local

A LONG-WAITED payout for thousands of city workers finally cleared a legislative hurdle in Mandaue City after months of delays and budget realignments.

The city council approved on third and final reading Ordinance No. 76-2026, authorizing a P197,715,908.06 supplemental budget for Calendar Year 2026, which includes a P5,000 gratuity pay for job order and contract of service workers.

Councilor Joel Seno, author of the measure and chair of the Committee on Appropriation, Budget, and Finance, said the funding came from unutilized 2025 allocations, including the 20 percent development fund and unimplemented projects returned to the general fund.

“There was a shortage of funds for the implementation of the gratuity pay. That’s why the mayor looked for ways to fund it. The P197 million includes the gratuity pay,” Seno said.

He said the gratuity pay, originally set for release in December 2025 and January 2026, was delayed due to technical requirements and implementing rules.

Seno pushed for the immediate passage of the measure, citing the long wait of employees and calling the benefit overdue. He confirmed that the budget covers gratuity pay for eligible personnel.

The supplemental budget also allocates funding for garbage management and emergency-related expenses. The City Accounting Office is set to process the release of gratuity pay simultaneously, with implementing offices directed to exert best efforts for early distribution.

The incentive follows Administrative Order No. 39 issued by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., which grants gratuity pay to contract of service and job order workers who have rendered at least four months of service.

A city hall office aide, Ziccell Anne Baflor, said workers welcomed the approval after months of waiting, adding that the benefit had long been anticipated since December.

She said the payout would help ease household costs, including school-related expenses as the new academic term approaches.

The city government has yet to announce the exact release date, but said distribution will proceed once processing is completed.(MyTVCebu)