Council to Cut P10.5-B Budget for 2014

Cebu City Council Majority Floor Leader Margarita “Margot” Osmeña said the members of the committee on budget and finance had agreed with the Local Finance Committee to reduce the P10.5 Billion budget proposed by Mayor Michael Rama based on the clear sources of funds of the city.

The Local Finance Committee, composed of the City Planning and Development Officer, City Treasurer and the Budget Officer, only expects P4 Billion collections from taxes and other kinds of revenues, including the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) next year.

According to Osmeña that while the Local Finance Committee had proposed a P10.5 Billion budget for the city on 2014, the P6 Billion of it is to be collected out of the sales of lots and the South Road Properties (SRP) which the former mayor’s wife said it is not yet sure if the city can sell the lots.

“Kon makabaligya ang city ug mga yuta sa SRP mahimo ra man nga mo-submit ang mayor og Supplemental Budget. We have to be practical, realistic and be candid with them. We are not preempting but are just prioritizing what are implementable and most needed,” she said.

But Mayor Michael Rama criticized Osmeña for making such statement that the proposed budget would be slashed to only P5.8 Billion even before it went through final deliberation.

Rama described the statement as “disrespectful”and it might be a violation of the City Council members’ oath of office as public servants because some city legislators “pre-judged” the P10.5-billion proposal.

“Because it could be deliberated upon and there is going to be such a thing as exchanges of ideas at the time of the presentation…. There is always a time for it to be deliberated upon. Why pre-empt? You don’t set any number otherwise, it may just be a decision of one and the majority of them would have no choice but to follow it,” the mayor said.

But Osmeña replied “I would like to assure that we are transparent and clear in our work and responsibilities.”

The City Hall department heads were made to present their respective priority budget, a “process” for the city council members to listen and exchange ideas. Osmeña suggested that the mayor appear during the budget hearing so he knows how city legislators deliberated the budget.