No irregularity in Quezon City budget approval, says city budget officer

MANILA, Philippines - The Quezon City government has dismissed claims by two former local candidates of alleged irregularities in the passage of the City’s 2010 General Fund Budget, where more than P500 Million Community Development Fund (CDF) was allocated.

City Budget Officer Marian Orayani said that the allocation of 514,968,048 lump sum amount for CDF fund or 20 percent of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) had been done by the city in accordance with the budgeting rules and regulations.

Under the Updated Budget Operation Manual for Local Government Units, Orayani explained that each local government shall appropriate in its annual budget not less than 20 percent of its internal revenue allotment for development projects.

“The P514,968,048 CDF for 2010 under the City Ordinance No. SP197 S2009, otherwise known as 2010 General Fund Budget, was approved as a matter of basic procedure. It is valid,” Orayani said.

Orayani was reacting to the civil case filed in court by Andy Rosales and Albert Hans Palacios, a former independent candidate for councilor and for congressman of Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino, respectively, last April 28 asking the court for preliminary injunction to merit a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the 2010 Quezon City General Fund Budget for alleged irregularities.

In their complaint, the two alleged that the city council had passed particularly the CDF without any basis for an approved Local Development Plan as well as a big budget for the Office of the Mayor, Vice Mayor and the City Council.

City Legal Office chief Christian Valencia said that the allocation of 20 percent CDF incorporated in the 2010 General Fund Budget of Quezon City had been carried out to finance various development projects, programs and activities of the city.

Valencia said the city has a long list of projects, programs, plans and activities for 2010 now under evaluation of the City Development Council (CDC).

At present, a total of P1.056 billion in development projects had been approved for implementation.

Meanwhile, Orayani explained that the P3.018,372,950 budget for the Office of the Mayor is not solely a mayor’s fund. In fact, she said that the Mayor’s Office Proper has only a total of P232,457,118 budget for this year inclusive of the salaries, allowances and other benefits such as job order personnel.

She said that the more than P3 billion budget of the mayor’s office is intended to finance social services program with the total allocation of P189,000,000; the Quezon Memorial Circle Redevelopment Program (P2,908,000); Infrastructure fund (P1,200,000,000); Special Activities Program (P300,101,784); and Statutory and Mandatory Obligations (P1,000,891,048).

This, she added is aside from the budget of the Communication Coordination Center (4,725,000) and Technical Assistance Committee (P3,090,000) which were also lodged at the Office of the Mayor.

The city budget officer, at the same time, explained that the ratio of the almost P5 million basic salaries as against the other compensation provided in the city budget is due to the funding for allowances, insurances, bonuses and other benefits uniformly given to government personnel. The P70 million other personnel benefits is intended for the newly-created offices now pending approval by the Department of Budget and Management, like the Quezon City Polytechnic University and Quezon City Building Official.

“This was the same with the other offices being questioned. The seemingly huge amount of budget for the Office of the Vice Mayor and City Council included salaries, allowances and other benefits of their personnel as well as various programs and projects,” she said.