Pay increase awaits Cebu City workers

Local

THE City Hall’s regular and casual employees are set to benefit from the first tranche of the wage hike mandated by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

This will be included in Supplemental Budget No. 3 (SB 3), currently under review by the Local Finance Committee (LFC) and expected to be submitted to the City Council for deliberation in the coming weeks.

Councilor Noel Wenceslao, chairman of the budget and finance committee said in an interview with Sugbuanon Channel that the salary adjustment would be retroactive.

He said that while the LFC has yet to submit the budget proposal to the City Council, they anticipate it being ready for deliberation soon.

Wenceslao did not disclose the exact amount of the proposed SB 3, but after the review by the LFC, the budget will move forward for approval by the City Council.

Aside from the salary increase, the budget is also expected to cover other essential allocations.

The wage hike follows Executive Order No. 64, which was signed by President Marcos on August 2, allowing salary increases for government employees in four tranches until 2027.

The order permits local government units (LGUs) to raise wages according to their financial capacity and classification. For first-class cities like Cebu, the increase can be as much as 100 percent of the current salary.

Wenceslao acknowledged that the salary adjustment would provide relief to employees amid rising costs of living, especially for regular and casual workers who had been hoping for higher incomes.

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman had earlier confirmed that the wage increase would be retroactive to January 2024 and would also include the mid-year bonus for eligible employees.

Last month, the City Council approved Supplemental Budget No. 2, totaling P384 million. Much of this budget was allocated to garbage collection, street repairs, and healthcare programs. SB 3, which is expected to include the salary hike, is still pending the submission of final documents from the executive department.(MyTVCebu)