Guv and PB agree on budget

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, Vice Governor Agnes Magpale and members of the Cebu Provincial Board (PB) have agreed to transfer the appropriations for the Sangguniang Panlalawigan from the executive department to the legislative.

This will be made formal and official through the passage of a supplemental budget which will transfer the items in the 2011 annual budget. The allocation will be submitted by Garcia within the week for consideration of the PB in its next week’s session.

After a closed door meeting yesterday, Garcia announced that she is preparing a supplemental budget of more than P100 million.

This will cover the appropriations for the Legislative Assistance Fund (LAF) which were not released in the second half of last year, the present LAF of Provincial Board Members and the salaries and wages of 11 casual and contractual employees of each PB office.

Garcia, however, did not have yet the total amount of last year’s balance of the PB members’ LAF. She asked Budget Officer Emme Gingoyon to compute the amount, which will be included in the supplemental budget.

Garcia also assured that while the post left by Magpale as fifth district board member remains vacant, the same would still get the same appropriations as the other PB members.

PB members agreed that Magpale should be the one to dispose funds for her constituents aside from her budget in the office of the vice governor.

Once the supplemental budget is approved, Magpale will also get the authority to appoint employees of the PB, an authority that was taken from the late vice governor Gregorio Sanchez Jr. during their political conflict.

Once the funds are transferred as PB appropriations, Magpale will now be signing for the appointments of casual employees of the Board. The appointments of casual employees in the Capitol will expire on June 30.

In this year’s P3 billion Capitol budget, some appropriations for the board was placed under the executive branch, authorizing the governor to sign the appointment of its employees.

However, Garcia said she continues to be the appointing authority of employees under the office of the vice governor whose term ends on June 30 because it has a separate budget from the PB. –(FREEMAN)