Charter Day bonus for Cebu City workers bleak

Local

CHANCES of granting Charter Day bonus to Cebu City Hall workers have become more bleak.

This after Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak confirmed that no funds were allocated for it in this year’s budget.

Tumulak, chairman of the City Council’s budget and finance committee, said the approved 2026 annual budget set the allocation for the traditional Charter Day service incentive at zero.

He explained that the decision stemmed from unresolved audit findings involving previous bonus releases and the need to prevent further disallowances.

“In the 2026 budget, the service incentive for the Charter celebrations in Cebu City is zero,” Tumulak said in an interview on Wednesday, Feb. 18.

“The reason is that the Commission on Audit (COA) issued audit observation reports and flagged previous releases. There are still unresolved issues from prior years,” he added.

The decision comes after Mayor Nestor Archival earlier disclosed that Charter Day bonuses granted in 2023 and 2024 were flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA) and may still result in Notices of Disallowance if deficiencies are not corrected.

Under COA rules, a Notice of Disallowance would require recipients to refund the amounts received. Archival warned that officials who authorized the release and employees who received the incentives could be held liable if the funds are eventually disallowed.

“Those who signed will not be allowed to retire unless everyone who received the bonus has paid,” the mayor said in a previous press conference.

COA earlier flagged the release of P71.698 million in Charter Service Incentives in 2023 for lack of documentation, warning that failure to submit complete justifications could lead to disallowance. Similar audit observations were reportedly issued for 2024.

The city also posted a P91-million deficit for the period January to December 2025, based on audit findings, further tightening the fiscal space for additional expenditures this year.

Asked whether the City Council could pass a supplemental budget to fund the incentive, Tumulak said it would be premature.

“A supplemental budget comes from savings. We are still in the first quarter of the year. It is only February,” he said. “Savings can only be declared if departments reprogram or discontinue certain appropriations. As of now, department heads are expected to implement the budgets they proposed and which were approved by the council.”

He added that declaring savings at this stage would undermine the integrity of the departments’ budget proposals for 2026.

“Personally, I agree that it is not appropriate to release bonuses while the COA investigation is pending. If we proceed and there is a disallowance, it will create more problems — not only for city officials but also for employees,” Tumulak said.

City Hall employees traditionally receive a one-day service incentive bonus in time for Cebu City’s Charter Day on February 24. In recent years, the amount has increased significantly — from P15,000 in 2023 to P25,000 in 2024, and P35,000 in 2025 for regular and casual employees.

Tumulak acknowledged that many employees were looking forward to this year’s incentive but appealed for understanding.

“We hope employees will understand the situation. This is also for their protection and for the city. Once the prior-year issues are resolved, hopefully next year we can provide incentives again,” he said.

As an alternative, Archival earlier said he is considering granting up to 10 days of leave credits instead of a cash bonus, subject to the final audit report.(TGP)