Cebu City Council passes P5.2 billion budget for 2012, less than half the mayor’s request
The Cebu City Council yesterday approved a P5.2-billion budget for the city next year, cutting away more than half of the original wish list of Mayor Michael Rama.
Vital outlays were retained for drainage improvement and college scholarships as well as direct financial aid for senior citizens and 80 barangays.
Thrown out of the budget were Mayor Rama’s plans to build a housing project for City Hall employees, spend for six new master plans, and set up new parks and a pocket forest, among other initiatives in his proposed P11.8-billion plan.
There is no outlay for foreign travel.
“Taking out over P6 billion from the budget was not easy. We did it step by step in trying to balance not only the city’s finances but also the services needed,” said Councilor Margot Osmeña, head of the budget committee.
She said what was approved was “reasonable” enough to cover the city’s needs in 2012.
Throughout the four weeks of budget review hearings, the council hammered in their disbelief that Rama’s administration could raise enough revenues to support an unprecedented P11.8-billion budget.
“The past weeks, we constantly reminded ourselves that expenses must not dictate the revenues. The City Council exercised propriety and prudence in the allocation of funds,” said Osmeña in a committee report read in yesterday’s City Council session.
Mayor Rama said he would comment after he gets to read a copy of the approved budget.
He said he was grateful the work was completed three weeks ahead of the Dec. 31 deadline.
“The most important thing is that it (budget deliberation) is over,” he said.
Rama said he wanted to check if the council restored P674 million in infrastructure projects which was earlier removed from an approved supplemental budget 2.
“I wanted to see if it’s back because that was their (the council’s) promise,” the mayor said.
(Councilor Osmeña confirmed that the 2012 budget carries the amount.)
During the budget review hearings, friction openly surfaced between the mayor and the council, which is dominated by allies of former mayor and now congressman Tomas Osmeña.
Rama would order department heads not to show up. The council insisted on summoning Tessie Camarillo, the acting treasurer, but the mayor set her aside, saying he had lost confidence in her, and placed the assistant treasurer, Emma Villarete, in charge.
MAJOR NEEDS
The City Council retained major outlays like a P300 million assistance to senior citizens, P175 million financial aid to barangays and a P50 million “goodwill” down payment for province-owned lots in the 93-1 controversy, and P100 million for the city’s medical assistance program.
Councilor Margot Osmeña said that the council also made sure that the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) would get enough medicine supply by doubling the outlay from P20 million this year to P40 million next year.
The fund for the scholarship program was also doubled to P200 million.
Barangay projects will have over P1 billion in funds.
This includes P400 million as financial assistance to barangays, P365 million for infrastructure projects, P175 milliion as aid to barangays, P100 million to pave mountain barangay roads, and P80 million to buy motor vehicles.
Drainage improvement is covered by a P204-million outlay while Carbon market unit II reconstruction has P100 million.
No master plan
But the council was not as generous to the Government Service Office (GSO), whose P228-million request for gasoline and lubricants was reduced to P100 million.
Also rejected were P75 million in appropriations for six new master plans.
Mayor Rama had wanted one for South Road Properties (SRP), traffic, coastal management and the beautification of downtown and uptown Cebu City. Each study would cost P10 million.
A sixth master plan for the city’s drainage, maintenance and flood-control projects would have cost P25 milllion.
Other items dropped from the mayor’s proposal: P50 million for a new transport terminal, P150 million for the expansion of the Cebu City Medical Center and P10 million for a hospital parking lot.
“The challenge of coming up with a balanced, achievable, realistic and workable budget not only in monetary terms but especially in the basic services to the people was difficult and a tedious one,” said Osmeña in her budget committee report.
