Residents and employees of Quezon City on Wednesday expressed gladness over the recent regularization of some 254 city hall employees in accordance with the order of Mayor Joy Belmonte.

The 254 employees, mostly working as contractual workers for more than 20 years, will now enjoy a regular status and will start receiving benefits aside from the increase in salary.

This was announced by the city government in its post on its official Facebook page on Wednesday.

“Malaking bagay na maging regular sa trabaho maski saang pinagta-trabahuhan kaya maswerte ang mga employees ng city hall na regular na. Congratulations sa inyong lahat. The long wait is over. Tuloy ang mahusay na serbisyo para lalong umasenso (It is very important to be regularized in their jobs, whatever they are. The city hall employees are lucky that they have been regularized. Congratulations. The long wait is over),” Margo Cruz said in her reply to the post.

The QC government said the regularization has been approved after Belmonte ordered to hasten the city’s regularization processes.

“Having a regular status at work is a big deal because it would give the employee and their family peace of mind,” Fredie Monde said in his post in a mix of English and Filipino.

Belmonte also asked that salary of contractual city hall employees be raised to a decent rate.

Ronald Tan, QC Human Resource Management Department (HRMD) officer-in-charge, said the delay in the regularization of some city hall employees may be due to previous administrations only screening at the end of their terms.

Meanwhile, netizens also said news about regularizing employees came as an early Christmas gift.

“Maagang pamasko para sa mga empleyado ng city hall, mas secure na ang kanilang buhay dahil regular na sila sa work (this is an early Christmas gift for city hall employees. They are more secured because they are now regular at work),” Baron Crisanto said.

Aside from the security of tenure, regularized government personnel also receive other benefits such as 13th month bonus, performance-based bonus, and other allowances.

Belmonte said the time has come for QC to depoliticize its manner of appointing and promoting employees and abide by the merits and fitness of its employees.

“We ought to give our deserving and hardworking city hall employees the security of tenure and all entitlements prescribed by the law. And we hope that this will motivate them to become more productive civil servants,” Belmonte said. (PNA)