City admin: Supplemental budget is sourced legally

CEBU, Philippines -  Cebu City Administrator Lucelle Mercado has denied allegations that the P664.2 million Supplemental Budget (SB)-2 has been illegally sourced.

“This is very legal. We have legal basis to prove it,” she stressed.

During the budget deliberation on Thursday, the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan-dominated council questioned the validity of the fund’s sources.

Councilor Eugenio Gabuya Jr. said the executive department cannot utilize the unused funds as sources for the additional budget, citing the Local Government Code which states that prior amounts can only be reverted and used for the annual budget and not for the supplemental budget.

But the Local Budget Finance Committee has identified sources of the funds, including P30.3 million from the reversion of accounts payable for the years 2008 to 2011, which were dormant accounts for at least three years already.

It also includes retained operating surplus for 2013 amounting to P211.3 million; P257.5 million unappropriated balance for 2014; and P2.2-million realignment from continuing appropriations for 2010.

Lawyer Jose Daluz III, the mayor’s representative in the local finance committee, countered Gabuya’s statement, saying the reversion of accounts payable in prior years can be reverted as provided for under the LGC and Section 98 of the Presidential Decree 1445 otherwise known as the State of Audit Code of the Philippines.

“Diversion of accounts payable is provided under the Local government code, once the said account has been dormant for almost two years then we can revert, realign or use that as fund sources,” he said.

Further, Gabuya said that there is no basis of passing the SB due to its undetermined sources of funds.

“It’s a waste of time if dili gihapon mapasar (SB) kay dili magamit ang funds,” he said.

In a committee report, Margarita Osmeña, who heads the committee on budget, said earlier that the enactment of SB-2 has no basis, except if the city treasurer would justify and will state that the amount of money collected at this point of the year is over and above the estimated income collection.

Also, Councilor Sisinio Andales has questioned the authority of Daluz to represent the executive department in the budget deliberation despite the issuance of Executive Order 14-9 by Mayor Michael Rama.

Under the said EO, the local finance committee is now composed of the City Planning and Development Officer, Budget officer, and City Treasurer.

The SB-2 also includes the proposed appropriation for the purchase of burial caskets (P5 million); burial cash assistance (P10 million); aid to barangay lupons, tanods, and garbage collectors (P211.4 million), tipping fee for miscellaneous services for garbage collection and disposal program (P56 million); traffic signalization in various locations in the city (P27 million) and the mayor’s discretionary fund (P5 million).

The budget for lot acquisition for school sites and for local government centers was also included in the appropriation with P25.5 million.

The SB-2 aims to cover the city’s urgent expenses from July to December, including the salary of hundreds of job-order personnel.

The budget hearing on SB-2 was rescheduled on August 26 pending the submission of the laws and circulars on the reversion of accounts, savings/surplus accounts, and lists of payees, among others.  —  /ATO (FREEMAN)