City owes BEOs P8.7M

CEBU, Philippines - At least 362 barangay environmental officers (BEOs) have yet to claim their honoraria amounting to P8.7 million from the Cebu City government since July this year.

City Council Majority floor leader Margarita Osmeña said the amount was appropriated under the supplemental budget (SB)-2 for the current year.

Osmeña questioned why the honoraria of BEOs from July to December are not yet given when there is already an appropriation.

The BEOs are receiving P4,000 a month from the city government.

Councilor Nida Cabrera, chairman of the committee on environment, said that there is no Certificate of Availability of Fund (CAF) from the office of the city accountant.

Osmeña said the P8,688,000 honoraria had been the priority of the council.

"This is our priority…funds are already available, so why there is no Certificate of Availability of Funds?" Osmeña said.

She added that it is not appropriate to delay payments for the services rendered by the BEOs to the city government.

Mayor Michael Rama said he is trying his best to work for the immediate release of the honoraria.

With this, the council has approved Cabrera's proposal authorizing the City Budget Officer to charge against the miscellaneous services of SB-2 the amount payable to the BEOs.

On November 20, Randy Navarro, the officer-in-charge of the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CCENRO), requested for the renewal of the BEOs.

The BEOs are deployed under the City Environmental Sanitation Enforcement Team or CESET, an enforcement arm of the city government to implement punitive measures against violators of City Ordinances 1361 and other anti-littering laws.

"BEOs are deputized to perform the powers and functions of CESET in order to fully implement and enforce the city's ecological solid waste management system," Cabrera said.— /GMR (FREEMAN)