Mayor Zamora reacts to ‘unpaid’ terminal benefits
SAN Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora has belied the allegations of Senator JV Ejercito on the non-payment of terminal benefits of retired employees of the local government.
In a privilege speech at Senate on Monday, Senator Ejercito said several retired employees from the San Juan City government sought assistance regarding the non-release of terminal benefits.
But in a statement issued by Zamora, he called the claim of Ejercito as “politically motivated” and “preposterous” because the fact that 122 claims already released were Estrada appointees and hires is proof that there is no bias in the selection process as to who will receive the benefits.
“Since 2019, the City Government of San Juan has released Terminal Leave Benefits of former City Government employees amounting to P45,934,981.03 to 122 claimants, including that of former Mayor Guia Gomez and key members of the previous Estrada administrations,” the statement said.
“The releases are based on a schedule that we strictly follow for budget management purposes to ensure that all aspects of local governance are given attention to. We cannot release all terminal benefits in one tranche because it will have an adverse effect on the city’s budgeting and finances.”
Zamora said that given that the Estradas were in power for 49 years, from 1969 until 2019, it is only expected that those applying for Terminal Leave Benefits are politically affiliated with them as their long-time employees.
“Wala akong iniipit o ginigipit ng dahil sa politika. Sa katunayan, isa si Mayor Guia Gomez sa kauna-unahang nakatanggap ng kanyang Terminal Leave Benefit.”
The city government of San Juan said it is “committed to releasing claims for Terminal Leave Benefits to all qualified employees. Processing and releasing are ongoing and continuously being done to ensure that those without pending complaints and/or cases will be prioritized.”
