Guidelines mulled for P5-T allowances to brgys

GUIDELINES will be drawn up for the release of a new P5,000 allowance for barangay officials, City Administrator Jose Marie Poblete said yesterday.

“We can’t determine the exact date of the release of the allowances. I think there was a requirement for guidelines, which I believe are necessary also. But the good thing is that we already have the budget for the assistance,” Poblete said.

Councilor Noel Wenceslao, vice chairman of the council’s budget committee, said the allowances that Mayor Michael Rama had promised to barangay officials are similar to those given to the judges and city prosecutors.

“It would be best to first refer the matter to the Commission on Audit (COA) to prevent any disallowance,” he told an assembly of barangay officials last Thursday.

Sta. Cruz barangay captain Jerome Lim asked city officials about the status of the allowance during the assembly of the Association of Barangay Councils.

Councilor Margot Osmeña said the City Council already approved P28 million for the allowances as part of a supplemental budget worth more than P400 million passed earlier by the city legislature. She said it was up to the mayor now to release the aid.  Doris C. Bongcac