The municipal council of Compostela has deferred the approval of the town’s budget for 2008 after its committee in finance asked for more time to look into what it believes as “flaws” in the P58 million proposed budget.
In a statement sent to The FREEMAN, Councilor Tessa Cang, chairperson of the committee on finance, said the council could not just approve the budget blindly with the presence of “glaring defects,” including several lump sum appropriations, as well as job order provisions that eat up significant chunks of the budget.
Cang said Municipal Planning Development Officer Carmelo Tejero has failed to attend the budget deliberation despite a formal request for him to appear and explain some of the provisions in the budget.
Cang said the Sangguniang Bayan approved the proposed budget on its first reading because Tejero was cooperative. However, Tejero reportedly no longer showed up when asked for documents and for some clarification on some issues.
She said the council session is supposed to be the venue for the executive department to explain the proposed budget but the MPDC allegedly continued to snob the council’s invitation to appear. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/JMO