Uniform Colors Divide City Hall

Cebu City Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young has ordered the employees of the City Council and those assigned to the offices of the city councilors not to wear the new sets of City Hall uniforms as ordered by Reelectionist Mayor Michael Rama because these are identified political color of Team Rama.

Rama is seeking reelection under the Team Rama-United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) while Young also want to be reelected still under the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan- Liberal Party (BOPK-LP).

While the May 13 automated national and local elections is fast approaching even office uniform has become a divisive issue at the Cebu City Hall because the personnel of the City Council will not comply with the order of Evangeline Abatayo, head of the Human Resource Development Office.

According to Abatayo’s memorandum, all City Hall employees must wear yellow gold on Mondays, blue on Tuesdays, peach on Wednesdays, and green on Thursdays.

“I was not consulted about the new uniform. It’s political color, yellow and green. I want to spare our personnel from the humiliation of looking like fruit salad,” the vice mayor said.

The vice mayor issued a separate memorandum completely different from the one issued Abatayo. Young’s memo stated that on Mondays, legislative department employees are to wear the khaki uniform, aqua blue on Tuesdays, black on Wednesdays and blue violet on Thursdays.

Fridays are considered wash days for the employees, but Abatayo said the wearing of slippers or “bakya” is strictly prohibited in all City Hall offices.

When the personnel assigned to the executive department started wearing their yellow gold uniforms last Monday, they were subjected to jokes from their visiting friends who saw them.

“Mora kuno mi og traffic aides nga tigkolekta og parking fees,” one of the personnel assigned to the Office of the Mayor said.

The vicer mayor said Rama cannot force the personnel of the City Council to wear his uniform because he is the presiding officer of the legislative department.