Rama to outline budget cuts to city residents

If the Cebu City Council makes good on its plan to cut his budget by more than half, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said he will display in tarpaulins the items that the council didn’t approve to inform the public.

Rama warned the council against slashing his proposed P11.8-billion budget for next year, saying the city residents needed projects and programs listed in his  2012 budget.

He reiterated yesterday that the city government is capable of raising P11.8 billion to fund next year’s budget.

“We have to believe in Cebu City’s capabilities,” he said.

Vice Mayor Augustus Young said they may only approve a P5 billion for budget for next year because the city is incapable of raising the money needed to fund the mayor’s proposed budget.

Former mayor and now Rep. Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City’s south district said he would not be surprised if Rama would try to make the council look bad before the Cebuanos for slashing his budget.

“That was his plan all along,” Osmeña said.

Osmeña said it is still best for the city to adopt a skin-and-bone budget, a process which he introduced to only fund the city’s basic expenses.

Supplemental appropriations may later be passed for other projects and purchases that are not funded in the annual budget, he said.

“Any responsible official would know that you don’t spend what you don’t have. We will spend more if we already have the money,” Osmeña said.

Young complained that bloated and several insertions in the budget caused the delay in their review.

He even said Rama’s proposed budget is designed to confuse the council.

The council is done with the budget hearings and started with the deliberation last Tuesday.

So far, they have determined that the city is capable of raising P2.5 billion for next year’s budget.

Young said they’re hopeful that by tomorrow, they will determine the total funds the city is capable of raising in order to decide how much next year’s budget would be.

“After we determine how much income we are capable of raising, we will then determine the expenses,” said Young.

In preparing the 2013 budget, Young said they will require the budget office to give the council a copy of the breakdown of all department appropriations to make it easy for them to review. /Doris C. Bongcac and Edison delos Angeles