LINGAYEN – Gov. Amado Espino Jr. has announced that the provincial government now works with a leaner but effective workforce as compared with the situation during the past provincial administration.

In his ‘First 100 Days’ report to the people of Pangasinan, Espino said that after taking over the helm of the provincial government, he reduced the number of casual and contractual
employees from 1,097 to only 700.

Espino said he did this because the 1,097 casual employees comprised one-third of the entire 3,063 work force of the province, whose salaries had used up 58.6 percent of the annual provincial budget.

Finding this anomalous, Espino said the 58.6 percent salaries of all these employees was way above the 45 percent ceiling on personal services set by the Local Government Code.

“A violation of law, it has eaten up that otherwise could have been used for beneficial programs and projects,” Espino said in his report to the people of Pangasinan.

]“We also upgraded the working system, redeploying underutilized permanent employees to ensure compatibility of skills,” he said.

By focusing more on policy-making and technical assistance, the provincial government thus produced a leaner but effective workforce, doing away with overlapping of functions and strengthened employee performance, he said.

He added that they raised workers’ salaries by 10 percent.

According to Espino, effective human resource management has led to improved discipline and decorum, adding that employees are now more punctual, wear proper uniforms and observe cleanliness and orderliness. (PNA)