Tom won’t stop Ricky from leaving SFI

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña will not stop Sinulog Foundation Inc. Executive Director Ricky Ballesteros from resigning after over 14 years in the position.

Ballesteros recently announced that he will resign from his post because he is "not getting any younger".

“He (Ballesteros) wants to go. I will not stop him,” the mayor told reporters.

When asked about the possible replacement of Ballesteros, Osmeña said it has to be a collective decision from the SFI board and the executive committee.

The mayor commended the committee of Sinulog this year for doing a “good job” as everyone contributed for the success of the Sinulog.

“I cannot just appoint a king. Nindot gyud ang team work. Pili ta og tao nga acceptable sa tanan para naay sustainability, naay continuity,” the mayor said.

Last week, the mayor released a copy of review of transactions for Sinulog 2018 to the media “for transparency.”

The document showed that the SFI has at least 237 percent excess funds amounting to P12 million this year compared to last year’s P3 million.

In 2016, SFI got P1 million while it collected P3 million excess funds in 2017.

Osmeña said corruption could be the reason for the big difference in the collection of sponsorships and ticket sales in the previous years.

When sought for comment, Ballesteros said the P12 million that was referred to the mayor as excess funds of the foundation is not yet the final amount since there are several expenditures that are yet to be paid for.

Ballesteros said the audit is still on going because there are expenditures to be settled by the foundation. This might be done by next month.

“I’ve talked to mayor Tom last Friday. I’m not getting any younger and last year, nisulti napod ko mo-resign ko. It’s high time to get somebody nga batan-on,” he told reporters, adding that the resignation is not related to the allegation of Osmeña about corruption in the foundation.

Ballesteros said there’s an increase in the funds of the foundation this year because of the increase in ticket prices from P100 to P150 for events like Sinulog sa Kabataan and the awarding ceremony.

He said it should also be noted that there’s no awarding ceremony last year because of the heavy downpour, a loss of almost P1 million in ticket sales.

Also, he said the booths that are rented during the event have also increased that is why the collection has increased. (FREEMAN)