Delinquent barangays to see less medical aid, ABC warns

Four delinquent barangays will no longer receive services from the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) in Cebu City unless they settle their dues which total P651,981.

ABC president Michael Rallota said barangays Lahug, Basak San Nicolas, Punta Princesa and Day-as were unable to remit their dues for this year.

Services to be suspended include his signing of their Program of Works and Estimates (POWE) for barangay projects and the release of burial and medical aid to officials and tanods.

Rallota said his signature is required in the barangay POWE before this is signed by the city engineer.

He said he may also  ask the accounting staff to deduct their dues from their annual budget. He said this was suggested by the Commission on Audit (COA).

Rallota reminded barangay officials in last Thursday’s ABC assembly that payment of dues is mandatory among  barangays.

Barangays are required to pay an annual membership fee of P25,750 each to be sourced from their Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) share in order to help fund the ABC’s maintenance, other operating expenses and its personnel services.

Rallota said the ABC only had P709,000 in funds with about 15 non-paying barangays when he became president. Since then, their funds rose to  P2 million with only four delinquent barangays.

He presented copies of a proposed agreement to make payment of ABC dues mandatory to all barangay officials in last Thursday’s assembly, along with the computation of their 2012 dues.

Rallota said  ABC dues help  fund their operations and pay the honoraria of their 34 staff, which includes three civil engineers, an architect and six accountants.

The ABC needs P7 million for their 2012 operations. He said he would  have to suspend ABC services to  non-paying members.

He said he would also reduce both burial and medical assistance to barangay tanods and officials to P5,000. Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac