Some items trimmed down: Council certifies budget exemption from poll ban

CEBU, Philippines — Despite heated discussion and scrutiny, the Cebu City Council has approved a resolution certifying the exemption of at least 133 items from the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) ban on disbursements during the election season.

However, the approval came with multiple amendments, significantly reducing appropriated budgets for various programs.

During the regular session on Wednesday, Councilor Rey Gealon reintroduced the resolution, which had previously been deferred. The resolution, requested by the Office of the Mayor, sought an exemption from the prohibition on disbursing public funds for social services and other initiatives during the election period as mandated by the Omnibus Election Code.

In the prior session, the resolution was set aside as the majority of the council insisted that specific items requiring exemption must be attached. This time, Gealon assured that the reintroduced resolution included the necessary details.

Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera sought to confirm the inclusion of these documents, to which Gealon agreed, subsequently amending his motion.

However, Councilor Nestor Archival Sr. stressed that the resolution must explicitly mention the attached documents to ensure that no unauthorized modifications could be made post-approval.

Archival also pointed out a discrepancy regarding the Senior Citizens' financial assistance, which was scheduled for distribution on March 28 instead of March 25, despite being a quarterly benefit.

Archival argued that this should be clearly specified and not rushed. He also raised concerns regarding the selection process for financial aid beneficiaries, citing complaints that some individuals were excluded.

“What is the process of identifying these (beneficiaries)? Because these are livelihood programs,” Archival questioned.

In response, Gealon clarified that the programs seeking exemption were pre-existing and had been implemented before the election period. He urged the council to approve the exemption, emphasizing that beneficiaries should not be “deprived” of their entitled aid.

Gealon asserted that what he was pushing was not a political stunt but an act of “compassion” that has long existed even before they filed their certificates of candidacy.

Pesquera, after reviewing the documents, pointed out that the implementation period was set from March 28, 2025, to May 12, 2025, yet the budget appropriation covered the entire year. Consequently, she proposed substantial amendments to the 133 items under exemption.

 These include the reduction of the aid to individuals in crisis situations from P20 million to P5 million; self-employment assistance program reduced from P7 million to P2 million; financial assistance for fire victims and other calamities was also reduced from P199 million to P10 million; assistance for persons with disabilities was trimmed down from P184 million to P30 million; financial assistance to octogenarians and centenarians was also slashed to P5 million from P20 million; and social pension from P49 million to P5 million.

Several other items were also trimmed, while certain programs, such as Cebu City Wi-Fi and Branded Intelligent Hub, were scrapped entirely due to their perceived irrelevance given the timeframe. Additionally, the travel expense exemption was removed.

“It should not be there, it’s not necessary,” Pesquera stated.

She further noted that the Social Pension was not reflected in the Annual Budget and proposed its deletion. Councilor Franklyn Ong supported this, pointing out that the Social Pension is sourced from the National Budget.

As the debate intensified, Gealon defended the resolution, stating that all items had been included in the council-approved annual budget.

“Please, let us consider that we are not just playing games here... I cannot leave you in the dark... my license is on the line, my office is on the line,” Gealon stressed.

After extensive deliberation, the city council ultimately approved the resolution, incorporating the proposed amendments.  FPL (CEBU NEWS)