• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Good news for both regular and contractual employees of Victorias City government in Negros Occidental.
Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez yesterday announced that regular employees of Victorias City government will receive more than P50,000 in bonuses in this Christmas season, after the Department of Interior and Local Government declared that Victorias City was among the recipients of the 2024 Seal of Good Local Governance .
Benitez attributed it to the team effort of city officials and employees.
He also said contractual employees will also receive a bonus, although he did not disclose the amount.
Benitez said they are still waiting for the guidelines from the Department of Budget and Finance on the amount allowed for them to distribute to both city officials and employees.
The outgoing Victorias City mayor, who is an aspirant for the 3rd congressional district in the elections next year, said he is hoping that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who he said is generous to government employees, and he is hoping that LGUs will be given leeway on how much bonus they will be giving to employees, depending on the available budget.
The Victorias City government employees received their yearend and cash bonuses last month.
Aside from Victorias City, other SGLG awardees for this year, are highly urbanized Bacolod City, component cities of Bago, Cadiz, Escalante, Himamaylan, La Carlota, Sagay, San Carlos, Silay, Sipalay, and Talisay, the province of Negros Occidental, and the municipalities of EB Magalona, Hinigaran, Ilog, Isabela, La Castellana, and Manapla.
In a statement, Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez congratulated “all the departments who have worked hard for this award.”
“This achievement is a true product of team effort, and each one of you deserves to be recognized and applauded. This one’s for Bacolod City,” he said.
Being a SGLG awardee for two consecutive years (2022 and 2023), Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said the provincial government of Negros Occidental is “inspired to continue, and even improve, our service to the Negrenses.”
He also urged the other local government units to be inspired by the achievement of other LGUs.
“With this, I encourage other LGUs to draw inspiration from this achievement. Let us work hand in hand to make Negros Occidental a model of good governance for our province and the Negrenses,” Lacson further said.*
