Gumilab fights for creation of work items in Tinglayan to ensure delivery of needed gov’t services

Tabuk City, Kalinga – To solve problems of manpower inadequacy and ensure the delivery of basic and much-needed government services in Tinglayan, Mayor Sacrament Gumilab together with his Sangguniang Bayan pushed for the creation of several items in four offices of the local government of Tinglayan.

The items include 5 drivers and a messenger for the office of the mayor, 3 midwives for the Office of the Municipal Health Office, and 2 drivers for the Secretary to the Sanggunian and for the Office of the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office.

According to the mayor, the local government through Appropriation Ordinance No. 01 series of 2023 created items for 3 midwives to fill the vacant positions in various Barangay Health Stations in the municipality since this is the basic and primary health care facility whose services are crucial for providing our constituents with basic health care.

The mayor particularly mentioned that the barangays where the supposed created midwives positions will be deployed are Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA) which are in extreme need of the services of midwives.

As to the creation of items for drivers, he reasoned out that ‘drivers are equally important as they are an integral part of the mobility support in the delivery of basic services’. Without drivers, it is difficult to transport workers, aid, equipment, and medicines to, or operate heavy equipment in many parts of the town.

Said drivers shall take charge of the ambulances of the Health Office, rescue vehicles and dump trucks of the Disaster Management Office, dump trucks of the Waste Management Office, legislative vehicle, and office vehicle of the Municipal Social Welfare Office.

The formation of the messenger's item, who will work under the mayor's office, meantime, is essential to support the mayor's office's multifaceted and multifunctional operations.

SP disallows creation of 11 items

However, when the annual budget of the LGU was submitted at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Office, the creation of eleven positions under the “Plantilla of LGU Personnel for 2023” was disallowed on the grounds of failure to reinstate the funding of the Mandatory Position of IPMR.

Said action, according to the lawyer-politician, is the same as the denial of the delivery of basic services to the constituents of the municipality of Tinglayan.

He added this also means that the powers of the legislative council of Tinglayan to create positions for the welfare of its constituents and the demand of service requirements of the LGU of Tinglayan are being restricted.

LGU Tinglayan files petition for declaratory relief

As a response to said action by SP Kalinga, the local government of Tinglayan represented by its mayor filed a petition for declaratory relief against the former.

In the petition made, it stated that the grounds of disallowance for the creation of said positions is not one of the enumerated requirements and/or limitations as set forth in the cited provisions of the Local Government Code.

Since it is consistent with the law, the petition stated ‘the wisdom for the creation of the eleven positions cannot be interfered more so by the SP of Kalinga’.

“Considering the foregoing, the SP of Kalinga went beyond its power of review when it declared inoperative in part, specifically the disallowance of the appropriation for the creation of the eleven positions in the various offices of the LGU, the subject Appropriation Ordinance,” it added.

In addition to this, the petitioner also said the Appropriation Ordinance ‘is presumed valid and operative due to the inaction of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan within the prescribed period of ninety days.’

Relative to this, the petitioner argued the Appropriation Ordinance was transmitted to the SP of Kalinga and was duly received on 25 January 2023.

The SP of Kalinga, it added, then has 90 days from receipt or until 25 April 2023 within which to act on the subject Appropriation Ordinance but the latter failed to do since the former only took action on the ordinance on May 23 this year.

“Hence, taking into account that the subject Appropriation Ordinance is deemed consistent with law and therefore valid, SP Resolution 2023-147 declaring inoperative in part the subject Appropriation Ordinance is without force and effect,” the petition stated.

It added that considering the said reasons, ‘there is an exigent need for the Honorable Court to declare Appropriation Ordinance No. 01, series of 2023 of the Local Government Unit of Tinglayan valid and operative in whole.’

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