THE Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services has no ghost employees, DFEMS Commissioner Juan Pua told Variety in an email Tuesday.
“I am an executive branch department with all personnel being sworn firefighters and civilian civil service employees. DFEMS would appreciate it if Sen. Dennis Mendiola could elaborate further on who this ghost employee is so that we can investigate, too,” Pua added.
He said his department has received a copy of Mendiola’s letter dated Aug. 5 to Sen. Karl King-Nabors, chair of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Government and Law.
“DFEMS has forwarded the senator’s letter to our legal counsel for review and will be meeting with our counsel. That is my only comment for now until I meet with my legal counsel,” Pua said.
He reiterated that DFEMS has no ghost employees.
In his letter to the JGL committee chair, Mendiola, a former DFEMS commissioner, formally requested an oversight investigation into the operations of the department.
“There are serious concerns that the department has been engaging in practices that are not aligned with the fiscal budget appropriation for FY 2024 and are in violation of Public Law 18-72, which outlines the governance framework for the department,” Mendiola said.
According to the Rota senator, during a recent budget hearing, “Commissioner Pua acknowledged that he had initiated the reallocation of employees into higher positions but failed to disclose these actions in his budget submission, including the associated personnel costs.”
Mendiola said, “Despite the fiscal constraints and the Governor’s executive orders calling for financial prudence, Commissioner Pua did not accurately present the impact of these reallocations. Moreover, he suggested that these personnel would be paid using revolving fund meant for operational needs, which raises further concerns about budgetary mismanagement.”
Mendiola also mentioned a “troubling” incident during a Senate budget hearing.
“Commissioner Pua misrepresented the nature of a conversation we had about a year ago regarding the temporary appointment of individuals to acting positions. Despite assurances that these were temporary measures, during the hearing, the Commissioner denied having had such a conversation. This misrepresentation casts doubt on his integrity and transparency in managing the department,” Mendiola said.
He said Pua also admitted to routing documents that propose reallocating individuals to high-capacity roles, even though these individuals previously identified the department as being “top-heavy” in the transition report.
“This inconsistency points to a lack of strategic planning and potentially misguided use of departmental resources,” Mendiola added.
“There are additional concerns about the presence of ghost employees within DFEMS, where some individuals appear to be receiving full salaries without performing actual work. This not only represents a misuse of public funds but also negatively impacts the department’s overall efficiency and morale,” Mendiola said.
In addition, the senator noted “indications of excessive procurement of professional services.”
“Yet during the budget hearing, Commissioner Pua was unable to account for these expenses. As the expenditure authority, his uncertainty raises serious concerns about his awareness and oversight of the department’s financial activities. This issue warrants our attention, and a deeper examination is necessary to uncover the full extent of the problem,” Mendiola said.
“Given the severity of these issues, I urge you to initiate a thorough oversight investigation into the department’s operations,” Mendiola told King-Nabors.
“The investigation should aim to uncover the root causes of these problems, hold accountable those responsible for any misconduct, and implement the necessary reforms to ensure that DFEMS operates in full compliance with its legal and fiscal obligations,” Mendiola added.
