Makati City Hall back to normal as Peña takes the helm

It's back to business at the Makati City Hall as it opened its doors with acting Mayor Romulo "Kid" Peña Jr. at the helm.

 

A report on "Balitanghali" on Thursday said transactions are ongoing at city hall, except at the 21st floor, where suspended Mayor Junjun Binay normally holds office.


 

Binay's staff of at least 15 people, as well as the receptionist at the receiving area, did not come to work, the report said.

 

The report quoted Peña as saying that he is inclined to think that they were only indisposed for the day. Mayor Binay stepped down on Wednesday after failing to get a temporary restraining order on a a suspension order from the Office of the Ombudsman.

Binay has been ordered suspended to prevent him from influencing an investigation into alleged irregularities in the construction of a building at the Makati Science High School.

 

For the meantime, they will secure a list of those employees from the personnel department and apply appropriate actions should they still not show up for work in the coming days.

 

Peña arrived at the new city hall on Thursday morning and will hold office as the city's officer-in-charge at the former licensing office on the ground floor.

 

The "Balitanghali" report quoted him as saying he would rather stay there instead of the mayor's office at the 21st floor so he'll be closer to the people.

 

He visited some departments, including Cash, Accounting, and Communications, and spoke to the employees in a public address earlier in the day.

 

While they assist residents in transactions, casual employees who spoke to GMA News said they were worried that their contracts would not be renewed, given a new leadership. – Rose-An Jessica Dioquino/JDS, GMA News