City Council starts scrutiny of P635 million supplemental budget

CEBU, Philippines — The budget realignment to back the source of funds for the P635 million Supplemental Budget 1 (SB1) was one of the items scrutinized by the Cebu City Council during its first budget hearing yesterday.

Cebu City Treasurer Mare Vae Reyes presented the sources of funds for the items indicated in SB1. She said for the General Fund Proper, it will be sourced from the deferred real property tax (RPT) for 2022 and 2023 amounting to P91.5 million and P113 million, respectively.

The Reversion of Accounts Payable, amounting to P67 million; savings from the current appropriations, totaling P70 million; and a subsidy from the General Fund Market, which is P34.4 million are the other sources of funds identified by Reyes.

Councilor Noel Wenceslao, chairman of the Committee on Budget and Finance, argued that the Reversion of Accounts Payable may be the funding allotted to pay suppliers and contractors. He added that some of the contractors have been complaining about delays in payments from the City Government.

He expressed concern that the reversed payables should be re-budgeted to pay these contractors and suppliers.

“Kay luoy sad tawon kaayo ni, laliman ka'g 2011 pa ang uban,” Wenceslao said, referring to the payable accounts that may be reversed to fund SB1.

Regarding the P70 million savings from the current appropriations, particularly from Personal Services, Reyes explained that this is due to the election ban, which prohibits the hiring of personnel until May 2025.

“Unya inig kahuman sa election, it’s a continuing thing, di nata ka hire? Nganong inyo man ning gamiton?,” Councilor Mary Ann de los Santos asked.

Reyes explained that the hiring process would be reactivated in June, and the budgetary appropriation would remain intact.

De los Santos, however, sought clarity on the declaration of the funds as savings, given that the year was not even halfway through.

“Para magamit lang gyud ninyo? As part of the Supplemental Budget? Is that correct?” de los Santos said. “That money is not intended for your specific purpose of the budget."

Reyes, however, said that it could still be considered savings since the funding could not be utilized during the election season.

Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera, however, questioned why the budgetary appropriation had been included in the annual budget if the executive had already anticipated the election ban on resources.

Reyes answered that they were fast-tracking the hiring process for Cebu City Hall to fill-in the plantilla positions.

On the deferred RPT as a source of funds, Reyes explained that these are payments that cannot be declared as income due to adjustments being made in accounting.

With this, Pesquera also sought a report to confirm that this has already been reconciled.

The proposed P635 million supplemental budget included the Charter Day bonuses for casual and regular employees, initially proposed at P25,000 but has been increased to P35,000, and P5,000 for while job-order workers.

The proposed supplemental budget also included an additional allocation of P140 million for road repairs through asphalting.

The third item in the SB1 is the continuation of the construction of the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC), with P210 million proposed budget.

Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia said the amount will be used to complete the CCMC's 8th, 9th, and 10th floors, which were initially intended to be funded by a donation drive organized by the Cebu Medical Society (CMS).

Another budget item included in SB1 is the additional sum to support the distribution of livelihood programs.

Garcia had said that the livelihood program was a result of his assessment where many small-scale vendors still need a capital capital to support their business.

He said that he was “inspired” by the success of the Sinulog 2025 event, where vendors were given a platform and were able to earn income without the fear of getting caught by security forces. (CEBU NEWS)