Cebu City awaits funds to settle P245 M payables

The Cebu city government has about P245 million in payables to suppliers and contractors, real property taxes and PhilHealth contributions.

Acting City Treasurer Emma Villarete said the amount includes the Special Education Fund (SEF) account.

Settling the amount depends on the availability of funds, she said.

“The policy is first-in-first-out, (first to submit bills, first to be paid). But with the limited resources that we have, we’ll prioritize salaries and remittances to Social Security System (SSS) Pag-ibig and utility companies,” Villarete said.

Mayor Michael Rama assured that the city still has money in the bank. and that he wasn’t worried.

“We just have to work together,” he said.

He said other money matters including audit findings which warned about a potential overdraft of close to P1 billion in financial management in 2012 is something that he will have to discuss with the City Accountant’s Office.

A “summary of vouchers subject for fund certification” dated May 24, 2013 showed that the City Treasurer’s Office has to settle P245 million in payables.

These include P126.7 million which has yet to be deposited in the city’s SEF account and the real property tax collection share of the city’s 80 barangays amounting to P71.6 million which has not yet ben released to them.

Other payables include remittances to Philhealth worth P22 million and dues to contractors, suppliers and service providers amounting to P24.7 million.

These payables include drugs and medical supplies delivered to the city, construction projects, vehicle spare parts and funds due for Cebu City’s solid waste management project.

Villarete said there are still other payables being processed because of the contractor’s or the suppliers need to comply with documentary requirements. But she’s uncertain on how much this would cost the city.

While CTO is coping with debt payments, Villarete said they are also working to make sure that the city can raise revenues to settle its obligations.

A report on the city’s daily cash flow dated May 24, 2013 show that the city has a total of P1 billion cash on hand and in bank.

This is broken down as follows: trust fund – P416.9 million, general fund – P403.9 million and SEF – P202.5 million.

Villarete said since the city’s trust fund account consists of cash mostly given by national government agencies for projects or programs here.

She said the account “cannot be used for purposes other than its intended purpose.”

The city government will have to seek permission from the donor agency prior to the use of the trust fund for another purpose.

The SEF is set aside specifically for construction and repair of school buildings and the purchase of educational materials.

The city’s general funds is where most of its expenses are being charged to.

Villarete said this isn’t the first time that payables were temporarily set aside to wait for funds availability.

About P100 million payables were also put on hold in March when Rama ordered that CTO prioritize the release of P4,000 in financial assistance to about 60,000 senior citizens.

Villarete said they managed to already settle part of the P100 million in payables when real property tax collections came in during the later part of March.

CTO’s daily check issuance report dated May 24, 2013 showed that the city made payments of P42.15 million to settle some of its obligations to suppliers worth P22.8 million.