Gov Marañon blames “politicking”

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines  â€” Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. is blaming “politicking” as the reason for the failure of the Provincial Board to approve the 2013 budget amounting to P2.02 billion.

“They say this is not politics. Who will believe them? They should be ashamed and admit the truth,” the governor said of the PB, which disapproved the proposed budget on Dec. 19 and later failed to hold regular sessions for lack of quorum on Dec. 26 and Jan. 2, ending 2012.

At the start of 2013, the PB still had no session and, last Jan. 9, it finally had a regular session but it mainly discussed the disapproved 2013 budget.

At present, the provincial government is operating on a reenacted budget, or the 2012 budget of P1.77 billion, the governor said.

Majority of PB members were perceived to be allies of Vice Governor Genaro Alvarez Jr., who is challenging the reelection bid of Marañon in the May 2013 elections.

Alvarez and Marañon are both local heads of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) but its founder, Ambassador Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr., has endorsed the candidacy of Alvarez.

Since September last year, when Alvarez announced he is running against Marañon, there had been three more sessions that did not push through for lack of quorum, resulting in PB’s failure to act on the governor’s request for a P240-million loan for various projects.

Marañon told the 2,335 Capitol employees last week: “Our (2013) budget has not been approved so we will be working based on the 2012 budget. Your salary increase will not be implemented, your P20,000 additional bonus will not be implemented, but I believe we still will prevail if we will just work on it together.”

The PB’s failure to approve the 2013 budget has been criticized by the Progressive Alliance of Capitol Employees (PACE) whose officials said they are considering legal action against the PB.

This year’s budget includes the additional P20,000 bonus and fourth tranche of the salary increase. The P20,000 is part of the P55,000 in additional bonus, also called the Productivity Enhancement Incentive (PEI), of which the initial P35,000 has already been released.

PACE officer had displayed placards outside the SP session hall that read, among others, “Respect employee’s right, don’t hostage our benefits and welfare in a political war.”

Last December, Marañon sent a letter to the PB asking them to reconsider the disapproval of the proposed 2013 budget, enumerating the reasons why the budget needs to be approved. He mentioned, among others, that the different department and offices, including the various hospitals of the province of Negros Occidental and their personnel, will not be able to perform their functions effectively without the approval of the 2013 budget.

Marañon said he is seeking a legal opinion from the DILG and the Department of Budget and Management to determine what legal action can be taken against the decision of the PB.

Alvarez, for his part, denied there was politics involved in the disapproval of the 2013 budget, saying that he is just the presiding officer and most of the PB members decide on the concerns of the provincial government. He said the PB is also seeking a legal opinion from the DILG on how to tackle the province’s proposed 2013 budget.

“We want to know what is the right thing to do here,” Alvarez said in a radio interview Thursday. He said the reason of the disapproval was that the items, particularly the 20 percent Provincial Development Fund of P368 million was presented in lump sum general allocations. He also said the amount of P170 million for the payment of loans did not specify which bank granted the loan and the principal amounts and interests. “It is not also specified where the remaining P198 million will go or if there are program of works, that’s why it was disapproved,” the vice governor added.

Alvarez assured the Capitol employees that they will eventually receive their P20,000 bonus and fourth tranche of their salary increase this year.  (FREEMAN)