DAVAO CITY – Politics is heating up in Cotabato City as its two top executives traded barbs that may have led to the termination of approximately 3,000 contractual employees effective Oct. 17.
Mayor Bruce Matabalao and Vice Mayor Johari "Butch" C. Abu, who are both vying for mayor in the elections next year, are now trading accusations on who is to be blamed for the termination of the city government employees.
MATABALAO
Early this week, Matabalao said that he had no choice but to terminate the contracts of the city government employees after the Sangguniang Panglungsod reportedly refused to approve an additional budget to cover their salaries.
Matabalao added that the scrapped proposed budget was also intended for the salary increase of regular employees.
The city government, he explained, is not yet bankrupt, adding that he and department heads have decided to terminate the contracts for the meantime since they cannot afford to allow them to continue working with a salary.
Abu alleged that termination of the contractual employees was due to Matabalao’s mismanagement of public funds.
He said that the city's coffers were depleted halfway through the year, adding that the city council approved a total budget of P1.58 billion for 2024.
In a statement, he explained that P75 million of the annual budget was allocated for the salaries of all Contract of Service in the city for 2024.
“However, this fund was exhausted in the middle of the year, and the Mayor’s Office and the Local Finance Committee (LFC) have failed to provide an explanation.”
The vice mayor urged Matabalao to be transparent and explain the whereabouts of the allocated funds as well as clarify the reasons behind the sudden shortage.
Despite the City Council’s request from the Mayor’s Office to provide a detailed account of the expenditures, Abu claimed, the local chief executive has failed to explain.
Matabalao denied Abu’s claim that there is a missing list of 3,000 employees, adding that the city council has a copy since 2022.
The mayor said that the augmentation of funds is necessary because there are necessary adjustments, unprogrammed expenditures, and realignment of funds with authority from the city council Local Finance Committee.
Matabalao said that it is not just the executive department, which experienced shortage of funds, but also the Office of the City Vice Mayor.
He disclosed that the vice mayor’s office and the council also received an augmentation fund of P74,707,053.
“Kung aaprubahan ng Sanggunian, may karagdagang P49,857,671 para ngayong taon sa inyong tanggapan. Ngayong 2024, may kabuuang P13,160,185 na pondo ang Sanggunian para sa kanilang mga COS at JOS,” the mayor said in a statement.
(If the Sanggunian approves, there will be an additional P49,857,671 this year for your office. This year, the Sanggunian has P13,160,185 for their COS at JOS)
Thus, this means that the city council also does not have sufficient funds to pay the salaries of its contractual employees, Matabalao said, adding that the only way to continue the services of the employees is to provide an augmentation fund.
Their political squabble erupted after Matabalao filed his reelection as candidate of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front-backed United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP) which has allied with the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) led by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
Abu, a son of the late MILF vice chairman for political affairs Ghazali Haafar, is set to challenge Matabalao under the Lakas-CMD-SIAP Alliance.
Both were running mates during 2022 elections under UBJP and unseated then Mayor Cynthia Guiani, who
also filed a candidacy for mayor in 2025.