NEWS BRIEFS
WRONG FUND FOR TEACHERS’ P10,000 ASSISTANCE
P10,000 financial assistance to public school teachers given last December by the Cebu city government was apparently charged to the wrong fund.
The Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) upheld the Commission on Audit’s (COA) position that it can’t be taken from the Special Education Fund (SEF) of the city.
Acting BGLF director Salvador del Castillo said the payment of teachers benefits is not among the items authorized for charging to the SEF, which is taken from 1 percent of local real estate taxes.
Under Section 272 of the Local Government Code (LGC), the SEF may only be spent “for the construction, repair, operation and maintenance of public schools.”
“It appears that the grant of additional benefits to all public school teachers is not among the purposes for which the SEF proceeds could be applied to,” del Castillo said in a January 9 letter to acting city treasurer Emma Villarete.
Villarete earlier asked whether the fund release to public school teachers was valid and whether the SEF may be used for the purpose.
It was the first time Cebu city tapped the SEF to give P10,000 per teacher last December.
State Auditor Eva Cabrera wrote Mayor Michael Rama last Jan. 7 calling his attention to the unauthorized use of P56.36 million of the city’s SEF for this.
In her Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM), Cabrera asked the mayor to justify the cash disbursement.
COA has yet to sit down with Rama for an exit conference before the agency can finalize its report on the matter. SEF. Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac
CAPITOL RESUMES CONTROL OF PROVINCIAL JAIL
CONTROL of the Cebu provincial jail will be returned to the Capitol with the end of the election period on June 13.
Acting Cebu Gov. Agnes Magpale said the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) took over last May 11 due to a Commission on Elections (Comelec) resolution that aims to avoid the release of inmates for political purposes.
“But the Capitol still paid for the food and all expenses except the supervision,” she said.
Interior and Local Governments Secretary Mar Roxas asked the Comelec to place jails around the country under its control. Roxas said he received reports that prisoners were being released during elections to serve as bodyguards to politicians. Correspondent Peter L. Romanillos
TEAM P-NOY CANDIDATES DOMINATE CEBU CITY VOTES
CEBU City voters voted 9-3 in favor of Team P-Noy candidates in the Senate race in the May 13 elections.
A copy of the statement of votes per precinct showed that re-elected Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano topped all candidates with 248,619 votes followed by first time candidate Grace Poe with 240,010 votes and Bam Aquino with 234,754 votes.
Cebu City has 547,681 registered voters. A total of 445,576 or 81.36 percent cast their ballot, said Cebu City south district election officer Ferdinand Gujilde.
Other candidates from Team P-Noy were Chiz Escudero (4th) with 230,614 votes; Edgardo Angara (5th) with 230,044; Aquilino Pimentel III (6th) with 222,607 votes; Loren Legarda (7th) with 220,817 votes; Ramon Magsaysay, Jr. (8th) with 218,807 and Risa Hontiveros (11th) with 185,776 votes.
UNA candidates who landed in the top 12 were Miguel Zubiri, Nancy Binay and Richard Gordon at 9th, 10th and 12th with 200,500, 196,088 and 181,323 votes respectively.
Despite this performance in Cebu City, Magsaysay, Zubiri, Hontiveros and Gordon failed to get a seat in the Senate based on the national canvass.
Re-electionist Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Cynthia Villar and UNA’s JV Ejercito and Gregorio Honasan were proclaimed instead of them. Correspondent Jose Santino S. Bunachita
