Manila vice mayor, council clash over budget cuts

A court has junked the petition filed by Manila Vice Mayor Maria Shiela “Honey” Lacuna-Pangan seeking to stop the implementation of the approved P14-billion city budget for 2017 after funding for her office was cut.

In a resolution handed down by Judge Armando Yanga of the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 173 on Jan. 13, he dismissed the petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and a writ of preliminary injunction, citing lack of merit.

Lacuna earlier questioned the validity of the council sessions in which Ordinance No. 7810, which tackled the executive budget, was approved on second, third and final reading in December and earlier this month.

The respondents were Councilor Casimiro Sison of the 6th District in his capacity as majority floor leader, and 17 other city councilors who approved the budget.

Sison, Lacuna and Mayor Joseph Estrada are allies under the latter’s Pwersa ng Masa. Estrada, however, has yet to comment on the issue.

In an interview with the Inquirer, Lacuna pointed to “anomalies” in the budget process, including a council session that took place in the city hall lobby supposedly after the meeting had been adjourned for the day.

“We were after the process of the approval of the budget,” she said, adding: “We believe it was railroaded.”

Lacuna said there were “unauthorized moves” carried out by some people, particularly the committee on appropriations. “The budget of some departments, including the Office of the Vice Mayor, the City Administrator’s Office and the Sanggunian, were not heard,” she added.

According to Lacuna, her office’s budget was slashed by P360 million which included allocations for job orders, contractual employees, office supplies and donations. “All that is needed for my office to run,” she said.

In her testimony, Lacuna called the sessions that led to the approval of the ordinance as “unsanctioned” and “unofficial.”

On Dec. 15, she said she adjourned the session after a motion was raised. But Sison and 22 other councilors resumed the session at the lobby and passed the budget measure on second reading.

For his part, Sison said before the court that it was Lacuna who violated the rules when she “abruptly adjourned” the session to avoid the approval of the ordinance. He also noted that only the majority floor leader was authorized to adjourn sessions.

Voting 17-13 with four abstentions, the city council approved the budget ordinance on Jan. 3, with Lacuna presiding. Mayor Joseph Estrada has yet to sign the measure.

“As far as this Court is concerned, the session, or the passage of the ordinance done on Dec. 15, 2016 and Jan. 3, 2017, by the herein defendants are valid and legal,” the judge said.