By Sarwell Meniano/PNA
PALO, Leyte — The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has started the process of rehiring the 3,900 job order employees after the delayed approval of 2019 budget rendered them jobless for weeks.
Virginia Talde, DPWH regional administrative division chief, said it is up to the regional directors, district engineers, and division heads if they will renew the contracts of all workers employed last year.
“There was no intention not to employ them this year. We’re only following department orders. It is possible that we will hire the same number of workers, but it depends on the need as determined by concerned officials,” Talde told reporters on Thursday.
She said there’s no timeline to complete the rehiring process since the DPWH could hire job order workers anytime of the year as the need arises.
“We need job order because the number of projects has been increasing every year. Without them, we have to do multi-tasking,” Talde added.
The regional office is tasked to implement 86 high-impact projects with a total cost of PHP9.29 billion initially listed in the 2019 National Expenditure Program.
In addition, the DPWH expects to implement more projects from Department of Education for school buildings, Department of Trade and Industry for roads leading to industries, and Department of Tourism for road access to tourism sites.
The regional office and 13 district engineering offices has more than 900 regular staff, four times less than the number of non-permanent employees.
The rehiring is in compliance with DPWH Secretary Mark Villar’s memorandum giving regional directors and district engineers the go-signal to renew contracts of job order workers.
Villar’s directive on rehiring dated Jan. 7, 2019 was disseminated through a memorandum issued by Regional Director Nerie Bueno issued on January 18.
Concerned on re-enacted budget woes, Villar issued an order last Dec. 17 limiting the number of workers in 2019. The hiring should be 70 percent licensed civil engineers and 30 percent non-technical personnel, according to the old memorandum
Numerous requests for exemption from the limited hiring prompted Villar to defer the 70 percent – 30 percent rule through the January 7, 2019 directive.
