by Noel Baguio
The provincial government of Davao del Norte will be providing livelihood assistance to security guards who will be displaced by its reorganization program.
Provincial administrator Rufo Peligro said guards who will not be rehired by the other departments of the Capitol, nor be absorbed by the private security firm to be hired by the province, will be given assistance to start their own small enterprise or any undertaking that will serve as their source of income.
Peligro said the Capitol is ready to provide assistance to the outgoing guards in recognition of their services and loyalty to the provincial government, where many of them served more than five years.
“It is very unfortunate that many of them will not be rehired by the province, nor be absorbed by the private security firm. But, we are willing to provide them livelihood assistance,” Peligro said. “But, they have to be organized first.”
According to him, the province is concerned about the plight of the guards affected by the reorganization. The executive department needs to implement the realignment in order to save resources for funding important programs and projects, including the salary increases of its permanent personnel.
As part of streamlining its organization, the province is not renewing the contracts of more than 50 security guards whose appointments will end on December 31, 2010.
The province is instead hiring the services of a private security agency to protect its vital facilities and installations starting January next year.
However, Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario’s close-in security holding permanent positions shall remain because they have security of tenure.
Facilities and offices of the provincial government will soon be maintained by private manpower services, while the provincial jail will be turned over to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
