Rama's office gets budget cut

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama lowered the proposed Cebu City budget for 2011 under the Office of the Mayor by almost P200 million.

In the second day of the budget hearing, Belinda Navascues, the secretary to the mayor, told members of the council that the budget under the Office of the Mayor was trimmed down from P673,213,833.20 for the current year, to P488,592,419 for 2011.

The Cebu City council is rushing the review of the P4.4-billion 2011 budget proposed by Rama. The Council is conducting the four-day hearing that started Tuesday to make sure the budget will be approved on Tuesday next week.

Navascues said there are special commissions and bodies created that have been reviewed and their budget was no longer placed under the Office of the Mayor.

Of the 29 special bodies and commissions, Navascues said 11 of them have personal services like the Department of Welfare and Urban Planning (DWUP), Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS), the Cebu City Youth Development Commission (CCYDC), Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission (CHAC), Parks and Playground, Cebu City Sports Commission.

City Budget Officer Nelfa Briones said that unlike the current budget, next year’s allocations for these items were transferred to another account.

Even if it was lowered, it does not mean that Rama has trimmed down the budget allocation of every department under the mayor’s supervision, she added.

 “Ang nahitabo man karon kay atong gibutang ang ilang mga account sa ilang respective department nga dili na mo-cover sa under the Office of the Mayor,” Briones said.

For example, the P10-million budget for the persons with the disabilities used to be under the Office of the Mayor but for next year this item would be under the Department of Social Welfare and Services. Rama is moving to make Cebu City a center for tourism and investments through his priority programs and projects.

Wit the new budget, he said City Hall’s services would be delivered right at every door step of Cebuanos.

The P4.4-billion includes budget for personal services (P1.1 billion), maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) amounting to P2.3 billion and the remaining amount goes to capital outlay. —THE FREEMAN