Mayors answer austerity call

The Metro Manila Mayors’ League (MMML) fully supports President Arroyo in her campaign for fiscal discipline and austerity to ease the country’s economic crisis, the league spokesman announced yesterday.

Pasay City Mayor Wenceslao "Peewee" Trinidad said league members have agreed to cooperate "by limiting travel, overtime services of employees and officials and attendance to seminars that are funded by government."

The mayor also revealed that apart from their collective measures, they will also adopt measures in their respective cities and municipalities.

For his part, Trinidad said he would urge city hall officials and employees to conserve energy to reduce cost of power utilized by the city government.

"We will also limit the use of government vehicles to those urgent and official uses only," the mayor said.

Trinidad noted a strong partnership among various departments is necessary to effectively implement austerity measures.

"The proper use of resources and manpower can always work to our advantage, crisis or not," the mayor said in his statement.

Trinidad said the Metro mayors also vowed to help in carrying out the campaign "up to the barangay level."

Conservation At City Hall

In Manila, Mayor Lito Atienza directed all department and offices at city hall to observe austerity measures, which include shortening the hours of operation of air-conditioners

Atienza said aircon units must be turned on only from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 a.m. to 4 p.m. only, for a seven-hour operation from the usual 10-hour operation in the past.

Austerity measures were implemented yesterday during Atienza’s meeting with department heads and division chiefs in compliance with the directive of the President .

The mayor also ordered a thorough inventory of all vehicle assets of the city government and monitoring of fuel consumption based on trip tickets as well as 10 percent savings in the annual budget of all departments and offices.

Atienza directed City Treasurer Liberty Toledo not to release the 20 percent contingency reserve in this year’s budget. Under the law, savings of any government office reverts back to the National Treasury at the end of each fiscal year.

In Las Piñas City, Mayor Imelda Aguilar directed all city officials and employees to strictly implement cost-cutting and energy saving measures to help ease the economic difficulties.

Aguilar specifically ordered that each city-issued vehicle must be limited to only 50 liters of gasoline a week and fueling should be done only on weekdays. The same order strictly prohibits the use of government vehicles for family and personal purposes, especially during weekends.

City Hall employees are also enjoined to adopt austerity measures by using aircon units starting at 9 a.m. until noon, and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.; recycling of office supplies and materials; and maximizing their office hours to save on manpower services.

At the same time, principals and school heads at all city elementary and high schools were likewise asked to undertake their own saving programs, and encourage students to do their own share.

Aguilar, however, assured city residents that despite the cost-cutting measures, delivery of basic services will not be affected as several precautionary steps have been adopted, long before the present fiscal emergency .

She pointed out that uplifting the living conditions of the underprivileged remain her top most priority as local chief executive.

In fact, the mayor added, the city has not incurred any debts nor avail of any loan to finance its programs and projects, with sound and efficient fiscal management.

In a related development, a group of businessmen has commended Mrs. Arroyo for admitting that the country is in the midst of a fiscal crisis, a clear indication that the government is serious in addressing the country’s financial woes.

Philequity Management Inc. said it believes the key to sustainable recovery of the economy and financial markets is structural reform.

"We are inspired by the President’s moral courage in grabbing the bull by the horn and admitting we are in the midst of a fiscal crisis, Philequity president Wilson Sy said.

The group believes that there is a need to increase the country’s tax effort, like the move calling on lawmakers to set aside partisan politics and pass eight new tax bills to raise revenue.