THE wait is finally over for more than 3,000 Cebu City Hall employees awaiting the release of their Charter Day bonuses following the lifting of the election spending ban imposed by the Conmission on Elections (Comelec).
In a phone interview on Tuesday, May 13, 2025 Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia said he had already instructed the City Administrator to proceed with the release of the incentives.
However, the exact time when the funds will be credited to the employees’ individual accounts remains uncertain.
“Usually, the money is downloaded to their ATMs at night. I don’t know. I already instructed today, so I don’t know when it is possible to be released either tonight or tomorrow,” the mayor explained in a mix of Cebuano and English.
The Charter Day bonus is an annual incentive traditionally given to eligible Cebu City Hall employees in commemoration of the City’s founding anniversary celebrated every February 24.
This year’s bonus, amounting to P35,000 for regular and casual employees and P5,000 for job order personnel, was included in the City’s first supplemental budget. The supplemental budget was approved by the Cebu City Council on March 26.
However, the timing of the approval closely coincided with the start of the election period. An election ban on the disbursement of public funds took effect on March 28 and lasted until Election Day on Monday, May 12.
The implementation of the ban prevented the City Government from releasing the bonuses as scheduled, leading to the delay that lasted for over a month since the budget’s approval.
Garcia previously sought clarification from the Comelec on whether the bonuses could be released despite the ban, but the City did not receive a favorable response prior to the end of the election period. / JPS
