Cabanlas comm to deliberate City College president salary grade

The City Council committee on laws and rules, chaired by Councilor Edgar S. Cabanlas, will convene today to discuss the salary grade of the President of the City College of Cagayan de Oro.

The deliberation follows the deferment of the confirmation of Dr. Jestoni P. Babia’s appointment as president of the City College during the 20th City Council’s regular session on Monday to allow further clarification from concerned offices regarding the legal salary grade for the position.

During the session, Councilor Romeo V. Calizo asked why the College President position has a salary grade 29 pointing out the salary grades of key local government officials like the city mayor at SG 30; Vice Mayor, SG 28; and city councilors, SG 27.

Councilor Suzette Daba, chair of the committee on education, clarified that the salary grade for a college president is set by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) under its Index of Occupational Services (IOS) guidelines.

“This is provided by the DBM Circular on IOS. Mao gyud ni ang rate sa usa ka university president or college president. During the discussion on the establishment of the City College, kana siya was already discussed at the committee level between our HR (Human Resource Management Office) and CHED (Commission on Higher Education), so naa tay gisunod na balaod ug mao ni sya ang standard na salary sa usa ka president,” the lady councilor explained.

Despite this clarification, Councilor Cabanlas suggested seeking further insights from  CHED and the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to ensure a legally sound basis for the salary classification.

“I think we have the right to question. Are we referring this to the president of USTP, UP, CMU, or MSU? It is just a College of Cagayan de Oro. I mean, okay lang kung naa gyud ni sa balaod; we should have some legal basis,” Councilor Cabanlas remarked. (JAOclarit/SP)