Compromise reached: Cebu City Council agrees to take up extra budget

Divided along party lines, the Cebu City Council can’t agree among themselves on how a simple majority is to be computed.

But they also need to act on urgent matters, like the P716.5-million proposed supplemental budget that includes payments to haul the city’s garbage for the rest of the year.

As a compromise, the councilors created yesterday an ad hoc committee on budget and finance.

Councilor Hanz Abella will chair it, and its members will be Councilors Margarita Osmeña and Alvin Arcilla from Bando Osmeña and Councilors Jocelyn Pesquera and Raymond Garcia from Barug Team Rama. Both Osmeña and Pesquera have previously chaired the council’s powerful budget committee.

The ad hoc committee will hold a budget hearing at 2 p.m. today. The proposed supplemental budget, Cebu City’s first for this year, also includes P80 million for salary adjustments, P69 million for the City’s social welfare services, and P63 million for its hospital.

For both his terms (2010-2013 and 2013-2016), former mayor Michael Rama had to work with a council whose majority a rival party controlled. Last May 2016, his party won the majority for the first time, although Rama himself lost.

Before his first year back at City Hall ended, Mayor Tomas Osmeña and his party persuaded enough councilors to shift, bringing the council to an even split of nine members for each party. The councilors have yet to elect their committee chairpersons because Bando Osmeña believes nine councilors are enough for a simple majority, while Barug Team Rama believes the presiding officer should be counted and the majority should be at least 10.

The Cebu City Council has created an ad hoc committee for budget and finance to discuss the proposed P716.5-million first supplemental budget (SB 1) for this year that the executive department submitted.

The move came after the Council still failed to elect committee chairpersons during their regular session yesterday due to the question on the number of councilors who will constitute a simple majority.

Councilor Nendell Hanz Abella will serve as chairman of the ad hoc committee while Councilors Jocelyn Pesquera, Alvin Arcilla, Margarita Osmeña and Raymond Garcia will serve as members.

A budget hearing is scheduled today at 2 p.m. and will discuss the items under the proposed SB 1.

Among the biggest items under SB 1 is the P151-million allocation for the hauling of garbage, which will start next month until the end of the year.

It forms part of the P214.3 million that the Department of Public Services (DPS) proposed under SB 1.

Aside from the proposal for additional fund to pay hauling charges, P56.3 million will be for rental of heavy equipment.

Another cut of the proposed additional budget goes to the Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW), which submitted P131.7 million.

Of the amount, P72 million will go to the facelifting of the Industrial Road-Landfill Road at the

Of the amount, P72 million will go to the facelifting of the Industrial Road-Landfill Road at the South Road Properties while P35 million was proposed to cover the paving and retreading of various city streets.

South Road Properties while P35 million was proposed to cover the paving and retreading of various city streets.

Other items in the SB 1 proposal include P80 million for the second tranche of the City’s compliance with the salary standardization law, P69 million for the Department of Social Welfare and Services, and P63 million for the Cebu City Medical Center.

Under the budget proposal prepared by the City Budget Office, the executive department will realign P515 million from the continuing appropriations under the general fund proper and revision of payables amounting to P125.6 million as sources of fund for the SB 1.

The executive department will also realign from the continuing appropriations under the local development fund for this year amounting to P10 million and P65 million from current appropriations for personal services and maintenance and other operating operations, as part of the sources of funds for the SB 1./

Among the biggest item under SB 1 is the P151-million allocation for the hauling of garbage.