Officials fear budget cut would mean uncollected garbage

Saturday, January 28, 2012

CEBU CITY -- Most barangays here depend on City Hall for the repair and maintenance of their garbage trucks. So when the proposed budget of the Department of Public Services (DPS) for this year was cut, some village chiefs were concerned.

Busay barangay captain Eliodoro Sanchez said that most, if not all barangays, have been relying on the support of City Hall for the repair and maintenance of their garbage trucks as barangays have meager budgets.

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Sanchez said barangays need City Hall’s help now more than before because Inayawan landfill is closed and Cebu City’s garbage has to be brought to Consolacion.

Sanchez said he expects the barangays’ trucks, which are not new, to need more maintenance.

Busay allocated P60,000 for the maintenance of its garbage trucks but the amount would not last until the end of the year, he said.

Basak Pardo barangay captain Dave Tumulak, whose barangay owns two garbage trucks, echoed Sanchez’s sentiments.

He said the reduced budget of the DPS for this year would mean “additional burden” to the barangays.

Agsungot barangay captain Pastor Alcover II expressed fears garbage collection would suffer.

“Manimaho gyud ang syudad ani (The city will stink),” he added.

DPS chief Dionisio Gualiza earlier said they can no longer maintain the barangays’ garbage trucks because of fund shortage.

DPS proposed a P321.7-million budget for 2012 but the City Council approved only P199.7 million.

Last year, DPS had a P9.6-million appropriation for the repair of its garbage trucks and those of the barangays. This year, though, the item got only P4.2 million.

The DPS has 30 garbage trucks while the barangays have more than 100.

Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) president Michael Ralota said they can help by establishing two motorpools, one for the north and another for the southern barangays.

However, the cost of repairing the garbage trucks will have to be shouldered by the barangays because the ABC also has a limited budget.

In a separate interview, Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young said the DPS and other departments of City Hall cannot blame the City Council for the budget cut. He said 2012 approved budget is even P1 billion higher than last year.

Cebu City Hall’s budget in 2011 was P4.5 billion.

The legislative council approved P5.2 billion for this year, more than 50 percent lower than the executive department’s P11.8-billion proposal.

“They should go to the mayor and ask for that P1-billion (increase) we gave them,” Young said.

He said the City Council is willing to approve supplemental budgets as long as City Hall has enough funds. (PDF/Sun.Star Cebu)