PB committee approves P3B Capitol budget

CEBU, Philippines - Despite legal threats from Vice Governor Gregorio Sanchez, Jr., the members of the committee on budget and appropriation of the Cebu Provincial Board yesterday approved the proposed P3 billion annual budget of the Capitol next year.

PB Member Peter John Calderon, chairman of the committee, announced the approval of the budget in the committee level.

Calderon said his committee has adopted in toto, the proposed budget submitted by Governor Gwendolyn Garcia.

The budget committee will endorse its report for plenary discussion next month because the board will not be having sessions for the remaining Mondays of the month.

The PB members will be in Manila on November 22 to attend the national convention of the Provincial Board Members League of the Philippines. They could not also hold session on November 29 because it was declared a holiday by Malacañang.

Calderon said that his committee report will be tackled on December 6. Calderon and the rest of the members of the committee pushed through with the budget hearing yesterday despite threats from Sanchez.

The vice governor, who questioned the proposed budget for allegedly being “illegal” and “maliciously prepared”, earlier threatened to sue his colleagues in the Provincial Board if they insist on conducting budget hearing despite his objection.

Sanchez returned his copy of the budget to the Office of the Governor and also referred it to the Department of Budget and Management. Despite Sanchez’s objection however the Board already approved the proposed 2011 budget in the first reading.

Sanchez claimed that the proposed budget is “irregular” for not bearing his signature as department head.

He said the proposed annual budget was “maliciously prepared” as the budget for the office of the vice governor was slashed by 61 percent and all the salaries and wages of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan casual and contractual employees were totally cancelled.

In the proposed annual budget, the office of the vice governor was slashed by at least 61 percent from P45.5 million to P18 million and each PB member’s budget was down by 70 percent from P8 million to P2.4 million while the budget for the office of the governor was up by 41.85 percent from P485.4 million to P688.6 million. — THE FREEMAN