Treñas unmoved by threat of graft raps over CNA controversy
City Mayor Jerry Treñas welcomes the threat of a City Hall employee to file administrative and criminal charges against him before the Ombudsman Visayas over the release of P5,000 cash benefit stipulated in the Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA).
In a very short radio interview, Treñas said he is ready to face whatever charges Hernando Galvez will file against him.
He said, he immediately talked to Galvez after he received the latter's letter dated June 14, 2007 regarding the issuance of Memorandum Order 338.
Memo 338 contains instruction to the city accounting department to include only members of the rank and file employees duly accredited by the Resource Employees Association of City Hall (Reach). The basis of the preparation of the payroll is the official list prepared by Reach.
Galvez, a legal researcher of the City Legal Office said Treñas could be held liable for violation of Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act particularly under Section 3 (e) for causing any undue injury to any party, including the government, or giving any private party any unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in discharge of his official, administrative or judicial functions through manifest manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence.
Galvez said he represents the number of city hall employees who are non-member of the association. There are 201 city hall employees who are not members of Reach. As to date, it was not immediately known on whether Galvez made good of his threat.
Iloilo City hall has 1,757 rank and file employees. Of the 1,757 rank and file employees only 1,156 Reach members of good standing will receive the P5,000 CNA incentives.
According to out-going Reach President Renato Talacay they wanted all the city hall employees to receive the P5,000 incentive. They, however should wait for the availability of the budget as no less than the chief executive assured them to source out and allocate funds for non-Reach members.
The 1,156 employees are the ones included in the Supplemental Budget Number 1 as approved by the Sangguniang Panlungsod. In the approved P45,480,000 supplemental budget, the city council only allowed the allocation and release of P5,780,000 for CNA incentives of 1,156 employees.
The approval of the CNA budget underwent a thorough deliberation. The deliberation also excluded 31 department heads of the city government from receiving such incentive.