Dumaguete Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria yesterday defended his administration in the practice of giving rice to job order employees of the local government at Christmas time.

He questioned why it took the Commission on Audit only now to call his attention about it when it has been the practice for the past 20 years.

Last December, the city government gave rice to job order employees since, under the law, they are not qualified to receive cash gifts and other benefits allowed for regular and casual plantilla employees.

Job order employees are mostly indigents, and giving rice to them at Christmas time is a big help to their families, he said.

Sagarbarria added he only adopted the practice from his predecessors, like the late mayor Agustin Perdices and former mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo.

Perdices served for three terms before Remollo was elected for one term, after which the former returned as mayor-elect for another nine years before Sagarbarria became the mayor.

The distribution of rice to job order employees last Christmas had gone through the legal processes and was approved by the city council, Sagarbarria said.

He added the papers for the rice distribution were in order and were submitted to the COA. He admitted the COA had issued a recommendation for disallowance.

There is nothing illegal about it and the rice is fully accounted up to the last kilo, the mayor added. The city government has already sent its reply to the disallowance notice, Sagarbarria added.

“If ever, we will have to reimburse. Not the outright return of the full amount but we can do it slowly,” he said.

He described the COA’s move as “unfair”, saying the agency should have forewarned his administration that this practice is not allowed.

“It is so unfair when we have been following this practice of the previous administrations,” he added.*JFP

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