Davao City Accountant Vingelin Bajan told the Senate impeachment court on Tuesday, during Day 41 of Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial, that some city government employees did not receive salary differentials because of incomplete supporting documents.
Bajan made the statement in response to Senator-judge Raffy Tulfo, who asked whether all Davao City Hall employees received salary differentials following the implementation of salary adjustments under the Salary Standardization Law of 2019.
Bajan said all employees were covered by the salary adjustment but could not confirm whether everyone had been paid, explaining that payroll preparation was decentralized, with individual offices preparing their respective payrolls for evaluation by the accounting office.
Asked whether Duterte was the only employee whose salary differential was overlooked, Bajan said some other employees also did not receive the benefit because their supporting documents were incomplete.
“Mayroon pong iba na hindi po nabibigyan ng salary differential… [dahil] Yung mga incomplete na mga supporting documents.”
However, she could not identify the specific documents lacking in Duterte's case, saying she was not the one who evaluated the payroll and that accounting staff handled the assessment.
Tulfo questioned why Duterte's salary differential took years to process, particularly since the delay reportedly stemmed from the submission of requirements by the city mayor's office, which Duterte headed at the time.
The senator also expressed skepticism over the explanation, noting that ordinary employees, including security guards who approached him on his radio program to complain about unpaid salary and night differentials, were able to receive their payments within two to three days after submitting the necessary requirements.
“Dito, umabot ng ilang taon bago maibigay dahil sa delayed sa pag-submit ng requirements, I find it hard to believe,” Tulfo said.
He asked whether delays in processing salary differentials were common in the city government, prompting Bajan to acknowledge that other employees had also missed out on the benefit.
Tulfo further raised concerns over alterations in the payment voucher covering Duterte's salary differential, including changes to the dates and the addition of a countersignature.
He questioned whether the documents could have been altered after the impeachment proceedings began, suggesting that the changes raised doubts about the circumstances surrounding the payment.
Bajan maintained that she could not explain the missing requirements or the processing delays because the concerned offices and accounting personnel handled those matters.
