Mayor told use of PAGCOR funds needs Council permit

CEBU, Philippines - The City Council yesterday asked the city’s Budget and Accounting offices not to process purchase requests that will be charged against funds from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) if the requests do not have Council approval.

In a resolution penned by Councilor Margarita Osmeña, the Council reminded Mayor Michael Rama that expenses charged from the PAGCOR funds should be approved jointly by the mayor and the Council.

The Council contended that Rama was wrong when he said in his revised guidelines issued on October 11, 2011 that the approval of the Council is no longer needed when charging expenses against PAGCOR funds.

The city receives P3 million from PAGCOR every month as its share of PAGCOR’s revenue for allowing government gambling casino to operate in the city. The funds are placed in a trust fund in one of the city’s repository banks.

Osmeña, head of the City Council’s committee on budget and finance, observed, however, that the city had several expenses in recent months that were reportedly made not in line with the guidelines set by PAGCOR.

When PAGCOR decided to give the city a share of its revenues, it also formulated guidelines on how the funds should be spent.

PAGCOR Chairman Cristino Naguiat Jr. himself provided Osmeña the guidelines in handling and disposing the funds.

Under the guidelines, the funds may be spent for self-sustainable livelihood projects preferably at the grassroots level to provide employment and general income for the less fortunate segments of the community, including physically-challenged, elderly persons, orphaned and abandoned youths.

The funds can also be used for scholarship grants that would include high-impact short courses such as computer science, tailoring, auto mechanic and other vocational subjects, infrastructure projects which are essential to the community.

Other projects that can be charged to the funds are the delivery of basic services, like health like those that prevents the spread of diseases, declogging and collection of garbage and the improvement of peace and order.

Naguiat clarified that the projects to be financed and the amount of funding required shall be approved jointly by the mayor and the City Council. — (FREEMAN)