MANILA - Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte on Monday reminded city hall employees there is no room for corruption in the city, as she acknowledged their vital contribution to the success of the city's programs and policy implementation.
In her message on the celebration of "Employees Day" in line with the commemoration of the city's 86th founding anniversary on Monday, Belmonte committed to "good governance," stressing that fixers and bribers among city hall employees will not go unpunished as the city implements "zero tolerance" against corruption.
"Kung kayo po ay mahuli, strike one pa lang, naging fixer, humingi ng lagay, kayo po ay kakasuhan ko po. Promise. Kung may pangako po ako sa inyo yan ang promise ko sa inyo. Wala pong puwang para sa katiwalian sa QC (If you are caught, even if you strike one, become a fixer, ask for money, I will sue you. Promise. If I make a promise to you, that is my promise to you. There is no room for corruption in QC). And you will pay with the full force of the law," Belmonte said.
"We want the people to trust our government. We want to earn the confidence of our government, para lang may isa o dalawa sa inyo na sisira sa hard work na ginawa ng pangkalahatanan na nandito (just so that one or two of you can ruin the hard work of the general public here)," she added.
Belmonte expressed deep gratitude to the 19,000 city government employees, whom she called the "unsung heroes" who quietly work and perform their duties to serve their constituents.
She encouraged city hall employees to continue studying and take the civil service eligibility so they can be permanent and rise through the ranks.
She also highlighted a key change in the city government's organizational culture, veering away from endorsements, including the backer system, to get hired in the city government.
"If you have a recommendation letter from a councilor, from judges, and influential people, it's automatic that you cannot be considered for promotion," Belmonte asserted.
She said the shift to a merit-based system and the rigorous application of the Personnel Selection Board (PSB) have resulted in the regularization of 3,145 employees and the promotion of 2,015 others based purely on job performance.
Belmonte, meanwhile, urged employees to take advantage of, and avail of free training programs in leadership, governance, digital transformation, and ethics, as well as of the robust mental health benefit of PHP15,000 annually.
"At dahil ang buwan ng Oktobre ay World Mental Health Month, gusto ko rin nating bigyang-diin, may available tayong mental health support para sa ating hanay (And since October is World Mental Health Month, I also want to emphasize that we have mental health support available for our ranks)," she said.
"Ina-encourage ko kayo to use these lalo na alam kong nakaka-stress rin ang ating trabaho (I encourage you to use these especially since I know that our work is also stressful). There is no shame in taking care of your mental health so that you can be better public servants in the process)," she added.