Rama vetoes portions of SB 2

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama has vetoed portions of the second supplemental budget proposed for this year amounting to P243.7 million.

Rama made the move after the City Council chopped the proposed budget in half to P501.2 million.

Rama vetoed Section 4 – Special Provision No. 1 and No. 2 but approved the rest of the budget allocations so that the city can “urgently and meaningfully respond to the needs of the Cebuanos, most especially the needy.”

 “I am constrained to veto all offices expense…for unjustifiably restricting my authority, as local chief executive, to use and realign savings to more critical activities of the City Government,” he said.

 These were expenses under the Office of the City Administrator, City Sponsored Activities, Non-Office (Peace and Order Progra), Current Operating Expenditures, Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses, Confidential/ Intelligence Expense.

 “I am mindful of legal fiats and jurisprudential rulings stating that budget execution remains the sole responsibility, and accountability of the Executive Department,” he said.

 As to the confidential and intelligence expenses, Rama cited DILG Memorandum Circular No. 99-65, which provides that the “funds for intelligence or confidential purposes may be sourced from the total annual appropriations.”

 The council approved only P100,000 of the proposed P6 million allocation for intelligence funds.

 The same circular provides that the amount to be utilized for intelligence and confidential purposes shall be based on 30 percent of the peace and order allocation or three percent of the annual appropriations, whichever is lower.

 “Thus, there appears to be no cogent reason why the amount allocated for the confidential/intelligence expense to the unduly reduced and restricted. Considering that the Peace and Order Program of the City of Cebu, especially intelligence gathering activities, remains a primordial and priority concern of the city, I am, therefore, constrained to veto the said item,” Rama said.

 The committee approved P9,981,868 (from P25 million) City Sponsored Activities, which includes P3,304,984 for items identified by the City Budget Office as items in excess of appropriation; P650,000 for operation Kalag-kalag and P400,000 for Operation Misa de Gallo, as requested by Councilor David Tumulak; P112,000 for Barangay Babag sports tournament; P4 million financial aid to 80 barangays with an appropriation of P50,000 each,  P2.7 million (from P10.4 million) for peace and order.

 This was because the council disallowed the utilization of P257.5 million in unappropriated balance for 2014 as funding source of SB-2, after the committee was informed that collection was just P3.9 billion as of September.

 The three-page veto-letter was submitted yesterday to the council Secretariat to be calendared for next week’s session. — (FREEMAN)