ABC funds in the red

CEBU, Philippines - The solution to the depleting funds of the Association of Barangay Councils in Cebu City lies in the conscience of the barangay captains who will decide whether or not to give a portion of their Internal Revenue Allotment to the association as its members.

ABC President Michael Ralota admitted yesterday that they cannot mandate barangays captains to give more than one percent of the barangay’s IRA to the ABC as there is no law compelling them to do so.

Barangays are only mandated to pay the P25,000 annual membership fee which is insufficient to continue the operation of the association.

Aside from the salaries of the personnel and other bills, the ABC pays for the benefits of its members which costs up to P320,000 a month.

As of yesterday, the ABC has about P700,000 in the bank.

Ralota said that even if the five remaining barangays that have not given its contributions to the ABC for the fiscal year 2010 amounting to about P300,000 pay up, it may not be enough to sustain them for a year.

ABC expects P3 million in assistance from the city government but they will not be able to enjoy it until the previous ABC staff are able to liquidated some P1.5 million in cash advances made during the time of former ABC president Eugenio Faelnar.

This cash advance was used during a Lakbay-Aral activity in Makati City during Faelnar’s term.

The city government has the right not to grant assistance to organizations that fail to liquidate the assistance granted by the city during the previous years.

Ralota said that he has directed the ABC accountant to coordinate with the City Accounting Office regarding the requirements they have to comply with in order to avail of the assistance.

If all barangays pay their share, Ralota said that ABC will be able to raise P8 million on top of the P3 million from the city government for the year.

In the coming sessions of the city council, Ralota said that he will sponsor a resolution urging the barangay captains to give their share in exchange for the various services and benefits.

As of the moment, all they can do is urge the captains since there is no legal basis to require them to pay. In the absence of a legal basis, to pass a resolution requiring the captains would be difficult.

Ralota still hopes that after the barangays are able to pass their annual budget they will pay their share to the ABC immediately.

One of the reasons why barangays have not yet paid is because the City Budget Office has not yet approved the annual budget for the barangays which is preventing them from releasing the budget. (FREEMAN)