A total of 2,809 employees of the City Government of Pasig were honored with loyalty awards for their continued service of 10 or more years during the flag raising ceremony held on Monday, March 21, at the city hall.

The awards and incentives were given through the Program on Awards and Incentives for Service Excellence (PRAISE), which recognizes the commitment of local government workers to public service in order to improve their morale and productivity.

They each received a certificate of recognition, and cash incentives of P1,000 per year of service, based on the milestone years.

The current longest recorded term of service of an active city government employee was 47 years.

Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto emphasized that an organization “is only as good as its people,” regardless of its infrastructure and material attributes.

“Ang isang lokal na pamahalaan, kunyari mawala ang mayor, ang mga konsehal, vice mayor, congressman, ang LGU aandar pa rin yan ng ilang linggo, buwan, o ilang taon. Pero kung kayo po ang nawala, dalawang araw palang magkakagulo na tayo. Kayo po talaga ang buhay ng ating lokal na pamahalaan. Kaming mga politiko, hanggang policy-making, pero kayo naman po talaga ang nagtatrabaho (If the mayor, councilors, vice mayor, or congressman leaves, a local government will still function for a week, a month, or years. Without you , the government will be in chaos in two days. You are the lifeblood of our local government. We politicians, we do policy-making, but you are the ones who truly do the work),” Sotto said.

The program was a part of the overall improvement and reform in human resources that Sotto said aim to shift the city’s bureaucracy towards a merit-based system instead of prioritizing political interests.

The city government strives to enhance the capacity of its government employees through its mass regularization program, initiatives to increase wages, and provides educational assistance through the Balik Aral Program.