City spends P100T for Rama’s inaugural address

ABOUT P100,000 was spent by the Cebu City government for last Friday afternoon’s State of the City Address (Soca) by Mayor Michael Rama at the Plaza Sugbu, officials said over the weekend.

“The expenses were small, the amount went mostly to pay for food and the sound system rental,” said City Administrator Jose Mari Poblete.

Cocktail food and native dishes were served to guests and city residents who attended the event.

Poblete said the rest of the expenses were shouldered by friends, political supporters and some City Hall suppliers.

He said the Soca expense was charged to the city-sponsored activities account.

Councilor Jose Daluz, outgoing chairman of the budget and finance committee, said he couldn’t recall any resolution that the council passed to authorize the P100,000 expense.

Daluz said charges to the city- sponsored account needed prior approval by the mayor and the City Council.  About P40 million of the city’s P4.5 billion budget for this year has been set aside for city-sponsored activities.

These include the annual Sinulog, Charter Day activity and the Christmas party for city hall employees.

“The mayor’s decision to organize his own Soca was unexpected so probably the amount charged to city sponsored activities account did not pass council approval,” he said.

In the absence of prior council approval, Daluz said the mayor can submit to the council copies of the contracts of services acquired in time for the Soca.  He said Rama can also charge the P100,000 to his discretionary fund.

The mayor’s office gets 2 percent of the city’s Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) share as discretionary fund.  Daluz said since the city is getting a P1 billion IRA share this year, Rama is expected to get a P20 million discretionary fund.

Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young said while the Soca is not part of tradition, holding one is the mayor’s prerogative.

Rama’s Soca wasn’t the first held outside the City Council session hall.

In 2008, his predecessor Tomas Osmeña held his Soca at the Cebu City Coliseum. With Correspondent Edison delos Angeles