CEZA hires permanent personnel for 2 managerial posts

The Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) has hired two personnel on permanent status for high-ranking positions as recommended by the Commission on Audit (COA).

CEZA is the government agency managing the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport.

In a statement to GMA News Online on Wednesday, CEZA Deputy Administrator Agrimero Cruz noted the managerial positions were acting senior deputy administrator, deputy administrator for Regulatory and Compliance, and corporate secretary.

“Since the exit conference, the positions for deputy administrator and corporate secretary were finally filled up by personnel in a permanent status and all designations, except that of the Senior Deputy Administrator which to date remains vacant, will be filled up soon,” Cruz said, referring to CEZA’s exit conference with state auditors last March 8, 2019.

In its 2018 annual audit report on CEZA, the commission called out the government agency for hiring three contract of service personnel to fill in managerial positions and travel abroad in violation of Civil Service rules.

Cruz iterated CEZA’s response as quoted by state auditors in the COA report and as stated in the earlier GMA News Online story that:

• the current manpower of CEZA could hardly cope up with the fast-paced business expansion and development within the Economic Zone and Free Port

• the technical expertise in emerging technological and market advancement among organic CEZA personnel is wanting

• foreign travels were more of trade mission and investment promotion activities, thus providing significant contributions such as signing of memorandum of understanding and investment commitments from various investors and locators in the Cagayan Freeport Zone

CEZA opted to engage contract of service personnel who possess the experience, proven track record and expertise needed to achieve with dispatch the lofty goals and objective of the agency pending approval by the Department of Budget and Management of CEZA’s proposed new organizational structure.

Foreign travel granted to contract of service personnel were more of trade mission and investment promotion activities, thus providing significant contributions such as signing memorandum of understanding and investment commitments from various investors and locators in the Cagayan Freeport Zone.

Cruz cited the letter sent by CEZA Administrator and Chief Executive Raul Lambino to COA in February.

Lambino described former DILG and Political Affairs Undersecretary Raymundo Roquero—who was contracted as special assistant to the administrator and CEO of Investments and Promotions—as someone with vast experience in banking and finance, marketing and investment.

Roquero was a director of the Land Bank of the Philippines, the Philippine Reclamation Authority and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. He was also former local chief executive (municipal mayor) for three terms and a former director and consultant to the chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

In the same letter, Lambino defended the hiring of contract of service workers Percival Peralta, who served as special assistant to the administrator and chief executive officer for Regulatory and Compliance, as well as lawyer Catherine Alameda as corporate secretary.

Lambino told state auditors that Peralta is a certified public accountant, lawyer, and a former banker who has wide experience in the banking industry and in the field of accounting and finance.

As for Alameda, Lambino said the young lawyer has knowledge of emerging technologies in the world market and technical expertise in the regulatory framework surrounding these financial technologies.

As of January 2019, Alameda has been hired as a permanent personnel, Lambino told the commission.

Cruz noted hiring the three contract of service workers to serve in managerial positions was done in an effort to address an urgent need of competent personnel and that hiring contractual workers for managerial positions is not a permanent policy at CEZA.

“While waiting for DBM to approve its new organizational structure, CEZA chose to be more proactive and designated a former Department of Interior and Local Government and Political Affairs Undersecretary as Acting Senior Deputy Administrator, a Certified Public Accountant-lawyer and former banker as Acting Deputy Administrator for Regulatory and Compliance, and a lawyer trained in technology regulation as Acting Corporate Secretary,” Cruz said.

“The said designations were done in exigency of service and were all temporary in nature,” he added.

“Such designations as well as the creation of various committees were designed as a strategic approach to make the CEZA management efficient in revenue-generation and investment promotion,” Cruz added.

As a result of hiring contract of service workers for managerial positions in 2018 , CEZA posted a 350% increase in revenue collections to P706.5 million from P223.1 million—an all-time agency record.

Cruz said CEZA’s Fintech initiative generated the bulk of the revenue or P476.3 million, while the balance include Customs collections of P31.5 million and payments to BIR as corporate income tax  of P110 million. —VDS, GMA News