Toledo City risks losing power due to unpaid bills

CEBU, Philippines - The Toledo City Hall is at risk of losing its power supply because of electricity bills that remain unpaid.

This is one of the major reasons the city is asking the Court of Appeals to intervene and allow it to disburse its budget for 2014 amounting to P619 million.

Mayor John Henry “Sonny” Osmeña has filed a Petition for Certiorari before the appellate court.

The city’s legal officer, Glenn Cavada, did not disclose the exact amount of unpaid bills but said they have accumulated to an amount that puts the city at a risk at disconnection.

The Regional Trial Court has stopped the disbursement of the annual budget following a petition from city councilors who said the approval was illegal because it was done without a quorum.

Aside from unpaid electricity bills, the undisbursed budget has also led to other problems, among which is the unpaid salary and benefits of City Hall employees (related story on Page 4).

Also, Cavada said the city has not purchased gasoline for the ambulance, a garbage truck for trash collection, and a patrol car for the city police.

If this continues, the various offices of the city government would not be able to function efficiently.

Public Service Division chief Rex Ybañez disclosed they have stopped collecting garbage from the city’s 38 barangays precisely because of the absence of support from the city. As a temporary remedy, he urged residents to segregate garbage strictly so they wouldn’t stink. Residents are also advised not to burn their garbage especially plastic.

Yesterday, Councilors Ricardo Pepito, Rogelio Caburnay, Louis Nicholas Espinosa, Helen Jill Espinosa, Edgardo Aguilar and Antonio Borja, Jr. asked the Ombudsman to order Osmeña to spare the employees’ salary and benefits.

But Cavada argued that the city cannot release pay the employees otherwise it can be held in contempt by the court.

“If we release the funds, we will be held in contempt of court because there was this standing order – the writ of preliminary injunction restraining us to disburse the annual budget,” Cavada said.

While the councilors questioned his move to go straight to the Court of Appeals, Osmeña said the city no longer filed a motion for reconsideration on the RTC decision because of “patent illegality and abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction in the issuance thereof.” -/JMO