GOVERNMENT auditors have recommended that the Angeles City government crack the whip on local government employees who short-changed city residents by failing to render the required 40-hour work week.
In a 2022 audit report released yesterday, the Commission on Audit tagged as “irregular expenditures” the payment of salaries and benefits totaling P74.06 million to city employees who reported for work only from Monday to Thursday without staying on the required extra two hours per workday.
The alternative work arrangement, which allowed the four-day work week, was one of the strategies adopted by the government to provide protection for workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But to compensate for reporting one less workday each week, the rules required employees to render two extra work hours for the four days that they were in the office.
This meant that instead of the usual hours, employees were expected to render 10-hour workdays under a compressed work week system.
The policy was backed by Civil Service Commission memorandum circular No. 01 and 06 as well as City Memorandum No. 493.
However, during an inspection to validate compliance with the CSC and City memoranda, the audit team noted that no city department or bureau remained open up to 7 p.m. to serve the transacting public as required by the rules.
“It was noted that some offices were closed even before 5:00 PM, while others were closed in varying time from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM. It was also observed that none of the offices/employees remained open or functioning up to 7:00 P.M,” the COA said.
Auditors said the city government paid P6.616 million per month in lost man-hours computed at two hours per workday or up to P74,068,851 for the entire year.
In its comment, the city government said the Mayor’s Office issued Memorandum No. 735, series of 2023 requiring the City Human Resource and Management Office (CHRMO) and all department/office heads to monitor strict compliance with the required man-hours under the Angeles City Memorandum No. 493 adopting the four-day work week schedule.
