A former vice mayor of Bacolod City said yesterday that it is unconstitutional to force or compel a corporation or individual to hire workers based on their place of residence.

The former official, Ramiro Garcia, was referring to an ordinance requiring all vertical and horizontal contractors to hire at least 20 percent of their work force from the barangay where their constructions are situated which was approved recently by the Bacolod Sangguninag Panlungsod.

Garcia said this is a democratic country where the right to employ or be employed is based on the qualifications of the worker and not on his/her place of residence.

In his letter to the SP dated March 14, 2008, he said he believes there is no existing law in the Philippines that requires a corporation or individual to hire workers based on such criteria. This violates ones rights, which are guaranteed by the Constitution, he claimed.

The ordinance, authored by Councilor Catalino Alisbo, also provides that these contractors, either funded by the government or private funds, should pay construction clearance fees to the barangay treasury of P100 for residential structures, P300 for semi-commercial and P500 for commercial establishments.

The enactment of the ordinance will encourage the barangay and the City Public Employment and Services Office to conduct manpower training and pooling of its skilled and unskilled workers for future employment as construction work force, it said.

Violators will be imposed penalties of P500 for the first offense and P1,000 for the second offense, it added.

Alisbo said the ordinance aims to promote local employment to barangay residents who are qualified to work as construction workers. Similar laws are being implemented in other areas like Manila, he said.

The payment of contractor clearance fees will be used to in the maintenance of peace, environmental and sanitary protection, and in order to regulate incidents of theft in the construction site, Alisbo said. 

“When they are robbed, they run to the barangay captains and most often blame the barangay tanods,” he said.

The ordinance also provides that if there are no skilled workers available in a certain barangay, the contractor can ask for a certification so he can hire workers from other sources, Alisbo said.

To Garcia’s claim that politics is behind the move, Alisbo said there is nothing political in the passage of the ordinance. Its purpose is only to provide job opportunities in the barangays.

He said Garcia did not even attend the committee hearing he called on the matter.

Meanwhile, a resolution requesting the mayor to create a task force, if there is none existing, that will regulate noise pollution is Bacolod City is being proposed by Councilors Jocelle Batapa-Sigue and Dindo Ramos.

It said City Ordinance No. 356-04 or an ordinance regulating noise pollution in Bacolod City declares noise pollution as one of the irritating disturbances to communal peace as areas become increasingly urbanize.

The resolution also says the city should coordinate with barangays concerned for the effective implementation of C.O. 356-04.*CGS

back to top