Mayors block DSWD-Cebu budget endorsement
CEBU CITY — Mayors comprising the Cebu Provincial Development Council (PDC) have refused to endorse the proposed 2023 budget for the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Cebu province (DSWD-Cebu).
In a PDC meeting on Sept. 15 presided over by Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, the mayors said the DSWD-Cebu had been saddled with controversies, citing its Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and indigent student financial assistance.
The PDC approved a resolution “expressing its sentiments” while calling on President Marcos that all further distribution of financial assistance from the DSWD should be consultated and coordinated with the local government.
Mayors of Cebu’s 44 municipalities and six component cities unanimously refused to grant the endorsement of DSWD-Cebu, saying their constituents blame them for not receiving the grant from DSWD-initiated projects.
As part of the Local Government Code, national government agencies need the PDC endorsement for their proposed budgets.
DSWD-Central Visayas Director Shalaine Marie Lucero has yet to respond to Inquirer phone calls as of 3 p.m. on Sunday. A text message sent to her was also left unanswered.
Cebu mayors complained that the the DSWD did not consult them on the programs they intended to do and that local chief executives got the brunt for the agency’s failures.
The DSWD-Cebu proposed P5.2 billion budget for 2023. It includes a P3.3 billion fund for the 4Ps and a P1.3 billion for the social pensions of indigent senior citizens.
The mayors complained about the P120 million earmarked by DSWD-Cebu for its “supplementary feeding program,” that had no clear process to determine its beneficiaries.
Talisay City Mayor Samsam Gullas said the indigent students’ assistance program lacked planning.
Several indigent students approached him for help because they were excluded from the DSWD program, he said, adding that the 4Ps implementation had same problem.
“I hope there will be proper coordination (with local governments) because at the end of the day, regardless of the declaration from the DSWD, the bulk of the complaint will go to the local chief executives,” he said during the PDC meeting.
The PDC approved a resolution by Mayor Teresa Alegado of Consolacion town expressing their sentiments to Marcos for coordination before the assistance programs are implemented.
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