PALAYAN CITY, Nueva Ecija–The annual
observance of the Civil Service Week
marking the 113th anniversary of the country’s Civil Service
has turned the City Hall in this provincial capital into a virtual ‘ghost town’
Monday after most offices here were padlocked, with employees streaming out for
various activities, practically paralyzing the delivery of basic services to
Palayanos.
At
the City Mayor’s Office, not one of the employees were present to provide a
skeletal force to attend to residents having transactions with the city
government. Monday is the usual
flag-raising ceremony for City Hall employees but it was waived since Mayor
Rianne Cuevas was indisposed. She was reportedly recuperating in Manila .
The
city administrator, Cocoy Medina
was also not around. She was also reportedly in Manila .
Only
architect Margie Angeles was around but she is not a rank-and-file employee but
the mayor’s personal consultant.
Several
employees reportedly went to the city plaza in Barangay Concepcion to grace the
Ginoo/Mutya ng Palaro 2013.
The
absence of City Hall employees has left many visitors empty-handed, including
one from the nearby town of Bongabon
who was unable to settle tax obligations for a property she owned.
Only
Vice Mayor Florante Mercado and city councilors were around but only because
there was a session of the Sangguniang Panlunsod.
The
lack of City Hall personnel apparently stemmed from a memorandum issued on August
28 by Cuevas to members of the SP and the chiefs of offices requiring their
participation in the anniversary rites for the Civil Service Week.
In
her four-page memorandum, a copy of which was obtained by The STAR, Cuevas
enjoined all City Hall employees to be part of the celebration for this year’s
rites which carries the theme : “Tatak Lingkod Bayan : Isabuhay, Ipagmalaki,
Ipagbunyi.”
Cuevas
stressed that the celebration aims to promote camaraderie, unity and personnel
development among the men and women in the city government.
Aside
from the search for the Ginoo/Mutya ng Palaro ng mga Kawani, the activities
lined up were ehersisyaw (dance exercises), sportsfest, stress management
seminar and the conduct of medical and physical examination for all City Hall
employees wherein they would avail of free laboratory, physical and medical
check-up provided by accredited clinics. These include ECG, urinalysis, X-ray,
CBC, uric acid test, lipid profile and others.
However,
Cuevas’ memo failed to mention the need to maintain a skeletal force.
A
STAR source said the employees exploited the situation and went out of their
offices. “’Pag wala ang pusa, naglalaro ang mga daga (When the cat is away, the
mice will play),” the source said, quoting a popular saying.
The source said
this would not have happened if the mayor, whom he described was “hard-working”
and “very strict,” was around. (Manny Galvez)
