Supplemental budget still stuck in council
The Supplemental Budget 2 proposed by Mayor Michael Rama again hit a snag in the City Council yesterday.
The majority bloc of the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kagawasan (BO-PK) said they should not be blamed for this.
Councilor Leah Japson asked why Rama’s SB2 doesn’t include an appropriation for the release of the P10, 000 additional Christmas bonus for City Hall employees.
”I am just asking because they may blame again the City Council,” she said.
Despite the submission of additional documents asked from the Local Finance Committee, the City Council still did not approve the supplemental budget.
Councilor Noel Wenceslao, vice chairman of the budget committee, said that while they really want to finish deliberations on this, “there are lots of discrepancies in the SB2.”
“We also have to look at the fund sources to know if we should reduce or retain the amount,” he said.
Councilor Jose Daluz III, Mayor Michael Rama’s ally, said any clarifications about the proposed SB could have been made during the budget hearing attended by LFC members and some department heads.
He said the council shouldn’t ask piecemeal documents as an excuse to slow down the process.
“We can’t be asking for a written explanation every time. That is the purpose of the budget hearing, to thresh out concerns on the budget,” Daluz said.
Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young told Daluz that the fact that there is still no certification of availability of fund sources for SB2 is already a cause for “alarm” for the council.
On the Christmas bonus issue, Mayor Rama said this wasn’t part of the supplemental budget since the fund will come from savings and any surplus which are realigned for bonuses.
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama has accused the City Council of “deliberately” causing delays in the passage of the P267.7 million appropriation in order to “jeopardize” his administration.
