Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto announced on Wednesday, Oct. 29, that more than 5,000 city hall employees have been regularized since 2019, marking a workforce with more permanent staff than contractual and job order workers.

He said that among those regularized, over 1,000 became regular this year alone.

“The Pasig LGU takes pride in having more regular/permanent employees than contractual/casual+JO,” Sotto said.

The mayor said the initiative began in 2019 with an employee who had served as a casual worker for 43 years, but now even those who have been in casual status for only about two years are being regularized.

He noted that as employees receive what they rightfully deserve through regularization and continuous development programs, public complaints against them have decreased.

“Nakakatuwa rin na habang binibigay natin ang nararapat para sa mga empleyado, kasabay ng pinalalakas na continuous professional devp program, kumukonti rin ang mga reklamo ng tao sa kanila (It is notable that as we give employees what they rightfully deserve, and as the continuous professional development program is strengthened, public complaints against them have decreased),” Sotto said.

“Halimbawa, sa TPMO, dati mula taas hanggang enforcer maraming reklamo mula truck ban exemption hanggang traffic violations; ngayon paisa-isa na lang (For example, in the Traffic and Parking Management Office (TPMO), there used to be numerous complaints, from higher-ranking officers to enforcers, ranging from truck ban exemptions to traffic violations; now, such complaints occur only occasionally),” he cited.

In 2022, Sotto recalled, “Nung konsehal ako, lagi ko silang tinatanong, ‘Bakit puro contractual, casual, at job order ang empleyado natin? Bakit bakante ang 91 percent sa permanent plantilla positions ng city hall?’ Ang sagot nila sa akin noon, wala daw qualified ma-regular, konti daw ang may eligibility... Pinag-aralan ko ito. Ginawa ko pang mini-thesis nung nag masters ko (When I was still a councilor, I always asked them, "Why are all our employees contractual, casual, and job order only? Why are 91 percent of our permanent plantilla positions in the city hall vacant?" Their usual answer to me is that no one qualified for regularization and only a small number of employees are eligible for it. I have studied this and even made it a mini-thesis during my masters)."

"Nung naging mayor ako, nagpakilala tayo ng matinding reporma sa HR. Kapag mas maayos ang HR, tataas din ang antas ng serbisyo ng LGU (When I became mayor, we introduced intensive reforms in HR. If the HR is effective, the quality of service of the LGU will also increase)," he added.

Sotto stated that employees, especially those who have long served the city, should be kept free from political influence and provided with job security and dignity.

On Dec. 13, 2020, Sotto was cited by Defend Jobs Philippines for regularizing, promoting, and increasing the salary of thousands of employees.

The labor group said the action taken by Sotto should be emulated by other local government units.

“These good, decisive deeds of Mayor Vico Sotto in ensuring decent wages and secured jobs for their employees in Pasig City must be duplicated by all local government units,” Christian Lloyd Magsoy, Defend Jobs Philippines spokesperson, said in a statement.

“Mayor Sotto clearly delivered his message across that political patronage system in the bureaucracy must be set aside and the best interests of workers and employees must be on top of every local official’s priority,” Magsoy added.