Mabilog blames mayor for six-month pay delay

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Three staff members of Iloilo City Councilor Sheen Marie Mabilog have gone unpaid for six months, a delay the councilor attributed to Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu’s failure to sign the required budget and job order documents.

Mabilog said the issue stems from the mayor’s inaction on her Coordinated Executive-Sangguniang Panlungsod Efforts for the Development of Iloilo City (CESPEDIC) budget and the contracts of service for the affected employees.

“My staff has not been paid yet [for six months] because [Treñas-Chu] has not yet signed their contracts of service,”

Under city ordinance, each councilor is entitled to receive PHP 92,000 monthly from the CESPEDIC budget, which includes funding for personnel salaries.

However, the implementation and release of CESPEDIC funds are handled by the Office of the City Mayor, giving the mayor authority over disbursements, contract approvals, and staffing appointments under the program.

The contracts of service, which may only be signed by the mayor, are required for the councilors to access their CESPEDIC.

But Mabilog said that as of Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, she had not received any response from the mayor’s office regarding her CESPEDIC allocation.

City Administrator Melchor Tan sent a letter to her office dated Dec. 19, 2025, stating that employees without approved contracts or job orders cannot be paid retroactively.

“But I disagree with that because we made all the communications and complied with all the requirements. The lapses are on their end for not processing the papers,” she said.

Mabilog, the lone councilor not aligned with the Treñas-Chu administration, said she believes she is being singled out, noting that other councilors have already received their CESPEDIC funds.

“It has been six months already. For me, you cannot just say it is miscommunication or [a lapse]. We have exhausted our understanding. I don’t know if this is a deliberate action, that is my question,” she said.

Mabilog said she plans to seek legal advice on possible remedies amid what she described as an anomaly.

She added that her office is exploring legal options to address the situation and protect her staff’s claims.

With the city’s books set to close on Jan. 12, any unreleased CESPEDIC funds would no longer be available for her staff’s salaries and would instead revert to the mayor’s office as savings.