Compromise over budget standoff reached

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — A compromise has been reached between the camps of La Castellana town Mayor Alberto Nicor Jr. and Vice Mayor Felix Feria IV to resolve the impasse on the non-passage of the town's 20-percent development fund.

The two officials and their respective camps clashed over the approval of the proposed P19.7 million fund for this year, which included the controversial P4-million scholarships program of the municipal government.

After a meeting that lasted two hours and 15 minutes at the Capitol last Tuesday, the camp of Feria got its part of the bargain: The initial budget of more than P3 million for the town's 750 scholars will be stricken off from the development fund and will be sourced instead from the general fund starting next year.

To augment the P3 million now, the funds will come from the budget originally intended for the second tranche of salary increase of the more than 200 regular employees of the municipal government.

Earlier Feria's camp wanted two things: 1) to take out the scholarship funds from the municipal development fund; and 2) to allocate a budget for the second tranche of the salary increase of the regular employees of the municipal government from the general fund.

For Nicor, he wanted to retain the funding of scholarships under the development fund, and to allocate the budget for salary increase from supplemental budget since there will be no extra fund for it from the general fund

In the meeting, the two camps agreed to a compromise: postpone the salary increase, so the budget intended for it will be used for the scholarship.

The hearing was called by the Provincial Board, and spearheaded by the committee on laws and ordinances chaired by 5th district PB Member Alain Gatuslao, in the presence of Vice Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, and PB Members Raul Rivera, Patrick Lacson, Rolando Ponsica, and Victor Javellana, among others.

The original budget for the scholarship funds is P4 million, but Rivera suggested that the payment for the second semester of college scholars, amounting to P1 million, will be deferred to next year, when the new Internal Revenue Allotment comes.

After the meeting, Nicor and Feria shook hands. Feria said the Municipal Council will pass the development fund of P19,760,846 in the next session. — (FREEMAN)