Rama scales down budget to P10.8 billion

About P1 billion will be cut from next year’s proposed budget for Cebu City.

This after Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama admitted there were discrepancies in the figures recorded by finance officials.

In yesterday’s budget hearing, City Administrator Jose Marie Poblete told the City Council that he will furnish them the amended budget of P10.8 billion this afternoon.

Among the changes are the revenue projections, which were scaled down, he said.

“We will just have to wait for the amended budget. What we were told is that the amendments would only be made on the revenue sources and not on the budget itself,” said Councilor Margot Osmeña, the council’s budget committee chairperson.

Poblete said there were “double entries” or “discrepancies” in the draft budget particularly on funds that were released as subsidies to special accounts.

Projected income from economic enterprises, for one, will be lowered from P4 billion to P2 billion.

To compensate for the reduction, projections for local revenue sources will also be increased.

Poblete said they may even drop their proposal for a P2-billion credit line if they can raise revenues to support the P10-billion budget.

Among the speakers in yesterday afternoon’s budget hearing were Rafael Yap, executive director of the Cebu City Integrated Traffic Operations Management (Citom) office, who was questioned on their P188.9-million budget.

Councilor Noel Wenceslao said an initial budget estimate of P168 million was indicated in their proposal but this changed to P188 million.

He and Councilor Sisinio Andales said the disparity in figures indicated lack of coordination among the department heads.

Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young said errors in figures appearing in the draft budget confirmed complaints from some department heads that the proposed budget was bloated.

Due to the absence of Acting City Treasurer Tessie Camarillo, the council grilled City Budget Officer Nelfa Briones on the budget’s revenue sources.

She was unable to elaborate on the projected P50-million revenue from the city’s economic zones.

Labella said while the city P35 million from these zones as of October this year, there are no new accredited establishments in the city.

Briones also failed to answer the council’s query for a breakdown of the P500-million worth of properties, which the city could sell to source P1.1 billion in revenue.

She only said the city could sell P350 million of its lots while another P650 million would be taken from sales of South Road Property (SRP) lots.

Briones said she will ask Camarillo for the breakdown of budget figures in today’s budget hearing.

Osmeña later reiterated that the budget hearing isn’t a war with the Executive Department.

Rama questioned the council’s decision to hold a budget hearing as a whole, saying the task should be left to the budget committee.