City Council defers okay of proposed 2009 budget

CEBU - The Cebu City Council yesterday deferred the approval of the 2009 Annual Budget worth close to P2.5 billion wherein the big bulk goes to the payment of the city’s local and foreign debts.

City Councilor Jose Daluz III, who is the proponent of this ordinance said that under the proposed budget a total of P663,446,789 is earmarked for the city’s local and foreign loans including its interests.

Daluz said that under the Constitution, payments for loans should only be 20 percent out of the total proposed budget which is only supposed to be P480 million.

The total proposed budget of the city for 2009 is P2,484,979,199.94.

Daluz, who is the committee chairman on budget and finance, said that the new amount for loan payment will be reflected in the next regular session on Wednesday.

Under the proposed budget, the city’s loan payment for the South Road Project is worth P350,102,384 with interest expenses of P303,515,445.

There is also an item for a loan payment for the city hall annex building worth P6.6 million and an interest payment of P3,228.960.

Also under the proposed budget a total of P457,899,102.20 is intended for special accounts for utilities and economic enterprises.

Another P323,284,541 is intended for subsidy to special accounts which includes the City Traffic Operations Management (45,105,509), Cebu City Resource Management and Development Center (P2,700,976), Hospital operations (P115,297,665), transport operations (P732.00) and local development fund (P160,179,659.20).

In the proposal, the Office of the Mayor has a budget of P128,814,227.

Among the departments, the City Health Department got the biggest chunk with a total allocation of P107,055,098.

A total of P87,265,899 is intended for the calamity fund.

It is also included in the budget the financial assistance worth P8 million for the Sinulog Foundation and another P7,586,916 financial assistance for the Cebu Investment Promotions Center, the marketing arm of the SRP. —Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/NLQ (THE FREEMAN)