Lobby for projects, officials urged

BRAND-new vehicles and more projects were promised by Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama to the 80 barangays next year provided their officials help lobby for funding to the City Council.

Rama also promised barangay captains better facilities for public schools now that he is taking over management of the Special Education Fund (SEF) as chairman of the Local School Board (LSB).

“Schools should have well-maintained comfort rooms, additional buildings and better-looking fences,” the mayor told the barangay captains in yesterday’s dialogue at the Grand Convention Center.

The mayor attended yesterday the groundbreaking of the P8-million rehabilitation project for A. Soriano Road beside the White Gold department store at the North Reclamation area and the P6-million rehabilitation for the Cebu City Sports Center’s rubberized track.

Rama then proceeded to visit some mountain barangays before he spoke with barangay captains in a noontime dialogue.

Before Rama arrived, his cousin and Basak San Nicolas barangay captain George Rama asked City Administrator Jose Marie Poblete when the 2011 aid to barangays amounting from P500,000 to P1 million would be released.

Captain Rama also sought an increase in the cash assistance that Rama promised barangay officials during his State of the City Address.

Rama included a P28-million appropriation in Supplemental Budget 2 for release of monthly cash aid of P5,000 to the barangay captains and P3,000 each to barangay councilors. The cash would be released starting July.

Barangay captain Rama said the cash assistance should be retroacted to start in January.

The amount would also be doubled in 2012, which barangay captains who attended yesterday’s dialog with mayor Rama, applauded.

In his message, Rama told barangay captains that over P600 million worth of infrastructure projects will be delayed by four months after the City Council deferred its approval next year due to lack of funding.

The mayor promised barangay captains that he would insist on inclusion of infrastructure projects for the 2012 budget.

Rama said the failure to pass these projects is like “depriving” the people of Cebu City of its benefits.

“You know what you need, you know the council, help me lobby for the projects. It’s possible that the projects will be included in the annual budget,” Rama said.