Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte has lauded a village chief for immediately dismissing 12 of his employees for violating the city's minimum health protocols.
In a Dec. 23 letter, Barangay Batasan Hills chairperson Jojo Abad informed Mayor Joy Belmonte he removed Leticia Samar, Michelle Saragcon, Ma. Elena Olesco, Nora Elizaga, Meann Ubang, Rowena Almonicar, Jocelyn Leonero, Ritchie Ancero, Manilyn Mejia, Gemma Relata, Marizen Misolas, and Alejandro Cabello as barangay staff effective immediately for holding a Christmas party in violation of city and barangay guideline and the mandatory health protocols.
“This termination of appointment is issued against the above-mentioned names from the Office of the Chairman due to disrespect of office protocols and insubordination,” Abad's letter read.
The village chief ordered his former staff to turn over all barangay properties in their possession for proper inventory, such as uniform, frontliner identification card, and barangay radio.
Belmonte lauded Abad for his quick action.
Netizens called out the dismissed barangay employees for failure to observe social distancing based on the pictures posted by Misolas on social media.
"I thank chairperson Abad for a swift action on this very serious issue, especially concerning health concern," Belmonte said.
"May this be a lesson to all ourbpublic servants in the city that we should always abide by the ruled. Let us be a good example to the public that we are serving," she added.
In a social media post, Misolas admitted she was the one who invited a team of barangay employees and volunteers for some dinner and drinks.
She insisted they followed the necessary health protocols, especially the 30-percent venue capacity as indicated in the localized guidelines issued by the city government.
The city government, however, was referring to essential work-related gatherings, such as conferences, trainings, and workshops.
Misolas admitted they failed to exercise social distancing for several moments during their picture-taking session.