Capitol's 500 'job hire' workers start 2008 jobless
Iloilo Governor Niel Tupas Sr. has ordered the non-renewal of job hire contracts that expired on December 31, 2007 following the failure of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to approve the annual budget for this year.
The directive was contained in a memorandum dated January 2, 2008 sent to all provincial government department heads and chiefs of 11 hospitals run by the provincial government.
"As the fate of our budget proposal for general services is still uncertain, we are compelled to direct the non-renewal of all job hire contracts that expired on December 31, 2007," the memorandum reads.
"We will have to wait for the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to act on the budget before we consider any rehiring of job hire laborers," it added.
The same memorandum states that the directive applies to all job hire laborers in the Iloilo Provincial Government except those working in the Iloilo Rehabilitation Center (IRC).
Tupas, in an interview with the Capitol beat reporters yesterday, said the programs of the provincial government will be affected with the non-renewal of the job hires but he has no choice.
"We can't pay them as there's no budget alloted for them," he lamented.
Tupas said there are around 500 job hires in the capitol, 240 of them under the office of the governor office. He, however, said that only 22 job hires are detailed in his office the rest in the various departments of the provincial government.
In the case of job hires working at IRC, Tupas said he will just look for funds so they could be paid. He said job hire workers detailed at IRC are really needed in order not to compromise the operations at the rehabilitation center.
"This is the first time in my six years as governor that the budget (for our job hires) has not been approved," Tupas lamented.
Earlier, the SP committee on appropriations headed by Vice Governor Rolex Suplico called for a review of all the job hire workers in the provincial government.
Suplico noted that the provincial government could be spending a lot on job hire workers which are actually not serving their real purpose.
Tupas, however, considered Suplico's move as part of the means to paralyze his administration.
"Eversince he assumed as Vice Governor he has been doing everything to paralyze my administration," the governor said, adding "I don't know what's with him, why he is doing this."