Bills are still ‘utang’

There’s an interesting parallel in the story of former Cebu governor Gwendolyn Garcia’s administration in Cebu to the story of King Solomon of Israel.

This comparison may serve as a reminder to the current CEO of the Capitol who was elected on a platform of transparent and accountable governance.

Solomon was mandated by his warrior father, King David, to build a temple for God. This was in keeping with a prophecy by the prophet Nathan that one of David’s sons would build the temple for His glory.

David wasn’t given that task by God, to his regret, because he was a man “who shed much blood”. Still, the former shepherd boy made extensive preparations for the task of building the Temple.

Apparently Solomon wanted the best temple possible so he amassed even more materials and hired the best workers for a Temple that, to this day, remains a legend for Jews for its sheer beauty and magnificence.

What wasn’t mentioned in the early Biblical account of King Solomon but surfaced later in his own account and that of other writers in the Bible was that the good king taxed his people heavily. Solomon did this not only to pay for the Temple project but to finance his lavish lifestyle.

This brings us back to the Capitol and how former governor Gwen Garcia painted a rosy picture of the province, which she described in her farewell speech as “debt-free” and the “number one province” in the country.

With pride, she said her historic term as Cebu’s first woman governor spurred over P5.5 billion worth of infrastructure projects for roads, bridges, schools, street lighting and government edifices.

No mention was made, however, of over P700 million in payables to various suppliers and contractors, a massive obligation that was interrupted at yearend of 2012 when she was suspended by the Office of the President.

Those same suppliers and contractors, some with bills dating back two years ago, are now at the Capitol’s doorstep, pressing for payment from the newly elected governor, Hilario Davide III.

Prudent spending was clearly not a priority before.

Garcia boasted that the province had no “debts” with banks or financial institutions, a word she said is different from “payables” that go with regular operational expenses. The hairsplitting isn’t surprising. Business jargon is convenient when you don’t want to answer for fiscal calistenics.

To taxpayers an unpaid bill is simply “utang”, an obligation that must be satisfed with public funds. Running up bills for P789 milllion is a major headache when you don’t have ready funds to cover them. How did this happen? If not for the change in leaders, would we have ever known this was how finances were managed?

The Capitol’s cash on hand stands at P791 million, according to the provincial treasurer. While not all bills can – or should –– be paid immediately, the fiscal stewardship of Cebu province needs to pulll out of this pattern of unmonitored expenses that assumes that the “richest” province in the country should conduct itself like someone signing a limitless checkbook.