The Cebu City Government has established a dedicated body that will receive, investigate, and recommend action on sexual harassment complaints involving city officials and employees.
Mayor Nestor Archival Sr. signed Executive Order No. 090, Series of 2026, creating the Cebu City Committee on Decorum and Investigation on Sexual Harassment (CODI-SH), which will serve as the city’s official internal mechanism for addressing workplace sexual harassment and gender-based sexual harassment cases.
The issuance was among the executive orders transmitted by the Office of the City Administrator to the Cebu City Council for information and guidance during its regular session on Aug. 4, 2026.
The creation of the committee complies with Republic Act No. 11313, or the Safe Spaces Act, and Civil Service Commission (CSC) Memorandum Circular No. 1, Series of 2021, which require government offices and local government units to establish a Committee on Decorum and Investigation.
Archival said the city needs a formal mechanism that will promote a safe and gender-sensitive workplace while ensuring complaints are handled promptly, fairly, and impartially.
Under the executive order, the CODI-SH will be the city’s sole authorized body to receive complaints, conduct fact-finding and formal investigations, observe due process, and recommend administrative or disciplinary action against individuals found liable.
The committee will be chaired by a representative of the mayor who must be a woman, while a female department head or assistant department head will serve as vice chairperson.
Its members will include representatives from the Office of the City Legal Officer, executive or managerial-level employees, the Department of Social Welfare and Services, the Cebu City Council, first-level rank-and-file employees, and a female or LGBTQIA+ sector representative from second-level rank-and-file employees.
At least half of the committee’s members must be women in compliance with CSC guidelines.
The Human Resource Management Office will serve as the committee’s secretariat and provide administrative, technical, and logistical support.
Members will serve a two-year term unless they are replaced, reassigned, resign, or removed by proper authority.
The CODI-SH is tasked to conduct preliminary and formal investigations, submit findings and recommendations to the appropriate disciplining authority, protect complainants from retaliation, and maintain confidentiality throughout proceedings.
The committee will also conduct information campaigns on sexual harassment laws and workplace policies and recommend programs aimed at preventing harassment within the city government.
It may hold meetings as often as necessary and adopt its own internal procedures, provided these comply with existing laws and CSC rules.
Funding for the committee’s operations will come from available appropriations of concerned city government offices, subject to government budgeting, accounting, and auditing regulations.
The executive order took effect immediately upon its issuance on July 27, 2026.
The move comes as local governments strengthen workplace mechanisms for handling sexual harassment complaints.
In July, the Mandaue City Council approved on first reading a proposed ordinance creating a dedicated office to receive and investigate sexual harassment complaints involving city officials and employees.
The proposal, authored by Councilor Carlo Fortuna, seeks to strengthen the implementation of the Safe Spaces Act through a dedicated mechanism under the city’s Gender and Development programs.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
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