Cebu City Hall Faces Scrutiny Over Delayed Uniforms and Employee Deductions
A significant delay in the distribution of new City Hall uniforms, despite automatic salary deductions from employees, is raising serious questions about transparency and financial accountability within the Cebu City Government.
Councilor Pastor Alcover Jr. brought the issue to public attention during a privilege speech on Tuesday, November 25, 2025. He emphasized that the situation negatively impacts employee welfare, financial integrity, and the City's duty to adhere to Civil Service regulations.
Financial Deductions Without Delivery
Alcover detailed that at the beginning of 2025, qualified employees received a P7,000 clothing allowance as required by law. However, P4,000 of this amount was automatically deducted from their salaries in the first quarter as a pre-payment for the new City-issued uniforms.
Months have passed since the deduction, and not a single uniform has been delivered to the staff. This is despite an earlier assurance from Henry Tomalabcad, head of the Human Resource Development Office (HRDO), that the uniforms would be ready by May 2025. Since that missed deadline, no formal update or explanation has been provided to the employees.
Compounding Injustice and Legal Concerns
The problem is worsened for some employees whose contracts were not renewed starting July 1, 2025. These individuals are left with salary deductions for uniforms they will never receive, a situation Alcover labeled as unjust.
The councilor also pointed to Civil Service Commission rules that mandate government agencies to provide uniforms for their workforce. He stated that the timely release of these mandatory uniforms is both a legal and moral obligation for the City Government.
Alcover warned that this delay is severely affecting employee morale and undermines the professionalism the City expects. He questioned how the government can demand discipline and a uniform appearance when it has failed to provide the very attire employees have already paid for.
Demands for Accountability and Future Prevention
In his appeal for fairness, Councilor Alcover has asked the City Council to formally require HRDO head Henry Tomalabcad to submit a detailed written explanation. This report must clarify the reasons for the delay, provide a concrete timeline for the uniform release, disclose the status of the procurement process, and outline how the City will compensate employees who are no longer in service.
Furthermore, Alcover wants the HRDO to present concrete steps to prevent similar failures from happening in the future. He stressed that his motive is not to discredit any office but to ensure the responsible handling of public funds and to provide clarity for the dedicated employees of City Hall.
