MANILA, Philippines - Mayor Michael Rama increased the budget of the City Heath Department from P158 million this year to P278.9 million in 2012.
Rama also increased the budget for the Cebu City Medical Center from P211 million to P422.2 million, with P134 million allocated for drugs and medicines. The present CCMC budget for drugs and medicines is only P20 million.
The 2010 budget for City Health’s drugs and medicines alone was P3.8 million, and then it was raised to P19.2 million for this year with a proposal to increase the budget to P133.3 million in 2012.
Rama’s administration wants to encourage people to approach the barangay health centers first rather than going directly to CCMC if they have minor health-related needs.
The City Health Department’s budget for the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) this year is only P50,432,837 but Rama increased it to P163,377,671.
Records show that in 2010, the City Health’s annual budget was only P113,179,490 then it was raised to P158,018,614 this year. The 2012 proposed budget is P278,962,471 or almost double compared to this year
While Rama proposed billions of pesos in various projects that include infrastructure, he is asking everybody to help him monitor people who may take advantage of the situation for their own interest.
“Tabangi lang ko ninyo pag-monitor nga dili maabusohan ang kwarta nga atong gi-budget,” Rama said.
Aside from the City Health budget, Rama also allocated P270,000 financial aid for the TB Pavillion in line with the city’s anti-tuberculosis campaign and P200,000 assistance for the Cebu Maternity and Puericulture Center.
These are part of Rama’s P11.8-billion proposed budget for 2012 that is still being reviewed by the City Council’s committee on budget and finance headed by Councilor Margarita “Margot” Osmeña.
But Cebu City south district Rep. Tomas Osmeña said he is confident that Rama can’t collect his estimated budget revenue collection saying “Rama does not have the management skills to raise the revenues.”
Aside from the tax collections, Rama’s other sources of revenue in order to achieve his dreamed P11.8 billion budget is to sell lots at the South Road Properties but he cannot do this easily because he is required to get the approval of the City Council first.
Most of the members of the City Council are Osmeña’s allies and are against the sale of lots to the public before the completion of the projects of SM Prime Holdings Inc. and Filinvest Land Inc.
SMPHI had purchased 30.4 hectares of land at the SRP where it will build the so-called “biggest mall in Asia” that includes an international convention center, while FLI will also build commercial structures within their 10-hectare lot at the beachfront of the former Kawit Island.
Osmeña said the price of SRP lots may double or even triple if these will be sold after the two giant land developers have finished developing their lots.
In his annual budget for 2011, Rama also included P1.2 billion in revenue from the sales of SRP lots, but nobody showed interest in buying the lots.
Rama also wants to get other sources of revenue like borrowing from financial institutions, but such a move is still subject to the approval of the City Council. —/BRP (FREEMAN)