Austerity in Cebu province

It is intriguing to note that members of the Cebu Provincial Board (PB) slashed the amount proposed for their own legislative assistance funds (LAF) before approving last Monday the province’s P3.2-billion budget for the current fiscal year.

The board members shaved P1 million off the proposed P5 million alloted for each provincial legislator’s LAF, leaving every one of them with P4 million in pork barrel funds.

This is a step in the right direction for stewards of the people’s money who anticipate the province won’t achieve its target revenues.

The belt tightening stands in stark contrast to the situation in the Senate where solons are under fire for accepting at least P1.6 million each from Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile in maintenance and other operating expenditures.

Strictly speaking, the act of legislating does not require so much money. It only bids a legislator to conduct a compassionate and intelligent assessment of the situation of constituents so that those who have less in life may, as a matter of justice, be given more in law.

PB members showed they can temper their self-interest.

Certainly the Local Government Code authorizes members of the PB to appropriate funds for projects in their district to benefit the people they serve.

But this is also why people will wonder how come the PB needed at least P97.5 million last year when each of them could actually suffer P4 million in LAF or savings of at least P12 million.

Can PB members render a satisfactory accounting of their sponsored projects and expenditures last year?

Otherwise they would look like hypocrites for scrutinizing the budget proposal from the Office of the Governor only this election year.

A less than thorough explanation would give rise to the theory that due to lack of foresight, the PB members themselves contributed to the cash flow problem the Capitol wrestles with today.

What a blemish that would be on the records of provincial legislators who aspire for reelection or seek higher government posts.

How much more would Cebu province have saved if the PB legislators did not wait for a shift in the balance of power to exercise utmost prudence in evaluating the budget proposals and books of accounts of the Office of the Governor?

The current state of financial affairs at the Capitol is a grim reminder for legislators in local government units never to look at people’s money as mere premium to facilitate political harmony with leaders in the executive.