Tomas O. blames city administrator as unpaid JOs ‘go hungry’

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña on Tuesday blamed City Administrator Albert Tan for prolonged salary delays affecting hundreds of Cebu City Hall job order (JO) and project-based workers, accusing the administration of “starving” employees who have gone months without pay.

During the Cebu City Council’s regular session, Osmeña proposed a resolution urging unpaid job order (JO) and project-based personnel from both the executive and legislative departments to report directly to the Office of the Vice Mayor.

The resolution, which asks workers to submit all documents related to their unpaid claims, was approved by the council.

READ: Archival defends City Hall over delayed JO pay: ‘Wala ta nagkulang’

This came amid mounting concerns over delayed salaries affecting at least 956 JO workers, many of whom have reportedly remained unpaid for services rendered between January and March this year.

“I’m so embarrassed as an official of the city government when we have employees who cannot even put food on their plate because we cannot process our salaries on time,” Osmeña told the council.

“This is the worst thing that we can do to our own people, and it will affect the performance of our city government,” he added.

READ: Over 900 JOs in Cebu City hall unpaid for months over late appointments

Osmeña said the city government continued to fund various social programs while some of its own workers struggled to meet basic needs.

“We like to give money to senior citizens. We like to give money to others. But our own job order employees who have to put food in their mouths every day can’t get their salaries,” he said.

The vice mayor said he intended to personally monitor complaints from affected workers and help identify the causes of payroll delays.

At one point during the discussion, Osmeña remarked that he would “kill somebody” responsible for withholding salaries.

READ: Over 500 Borongan City job order workers laid off amid budget deadlock

Majority Floor Leader Dave Tumulak immediately moved to strike the statement from the record, prompting Presiding Officer Philip Zafra to direct the council secretary to remove the remark.

‘I don’t like to see my people go hungry’

Osmeña later disclosed that several JO workers assigned to his office had yet to receive compensation despite continuing to work.

“As you know, I’m a unique vice mayor in that in the evening, I’m also the mayor. We have an office that’s 24/7,” he said, referring to his role as acting mayor during the mayor’s absence.

“We have 15 job order employees who work so hard. They work Sundays, off-hours, and they have nothing to eat.”

The vice mayor claimed he had personally helped support some workers financially while they wait for their salaries.

“I give them my personal salary because I don’t have the courage to tell them to keep on working under those conditions,” he said.

Osmeña then directly pointed to the City Administrator’s Office as the source of responsibility.

“I put the blame really on the city administrator because that is primarily his responsibility,” he said. “I’m taking this personally because I personally pay for it. And I don’t like to see my people go hungry.”

Council backs resolution, urges coordination

Several councilors expressed support for helping affected workers but urged coordination with the executive branch.

Councilor Francis Esparis backed the resolution and described the salary delays as a serious burden on workers.

“Maluoy ta sa mga JO (We pity the job order employees),” he said.

Councilor Harry Eran, meanwhile, supported the intent of the resolution but cautioned against actions that could appear to encroach on executive functions.

“Ngano man diayng ma-delay (Why is it getting delayed)?, ” he asked.

“Para mura ba og wa sa usurpation ba (So that it would not appear as usurpation),” he added.

Eran said the Office of the Vice Mayor should coordinate with the executive department while investigating the causes of payroll delays.

“We appreciate the intention of the Office of the Vice Mayor to really help speed up the processing,” he said.

The council subsequently approved the resolution without objection.

Archival cites paperwork bottlenecks

Mayor Nestor Archival earlier rejected claims that City Hall lacks funds to pay JO workers, insisting that bureaucratic delays, not budget shortages, caused the problem.

In a June 1 press conference, Archival said incomplete documentary requirements and late submission of accomplishment reports slowed payroll processing.

“Sa tinuod lang ako gyud gitan-aw unsay problema kay daghan kaayo factors,” he said.

(Honestly, I personally looked into the problem because many factors contributed to it.)

The mayor explained that many workers submitted required reports only near payroll deadlines, delaying processing for entire groups.

“Imagine, day 1 to day 15 dapat naghimo na gyud unta na silag report. Ang kadaghanan man gud dili maghimo og report. Anha na maghimo sa petsa 15 o 30,” Archival said.

(Imagine, from day 1 to day 15, they should already be preparing their reports. But many do not prepare them and only do so on the 15th or 30th.)

Archival maintained that City Hall had sufficient funds to cover salaries.

“Wala ta nagkulang. Naa na ang budget. The moment complete ang papel, mahatag man gyud na,” he said.

(We did not fall short. The budget is already there. The moment the papers are complete, we can release the payment.)

More than 900 workers affected

The salary controversy surfaced publicly after Councilor Harold Kendrick Go disclosed that at least 956 JO personnel remained unpaid from January to March 2026, with some claims dating back to October 2025.

Go previously said delayed submission of appointments to the City Council contributed to the backlog.

“January hangtod March walay sweldo ang 956 ka job order personnel. Karon pa gi-submit ilang appointment sa konseho,” he said.

(From January to March, the 956 job order personnel did not receive any salary. Their appointments were only submitted to the council just now.)

The issue has also drawn attention because of the city government’s strict “no appointment, no work” policy, which bars personnel from legally rendering service or receiving compensation without approved appointments.

The policy, enforced under the Archival administration, aims to ensure compliance with civil service regulations but has also exposed vulnerabilities in the processing of appointments and payroll documents.

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