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Thursday, July 17, 2003
City Council to take up DBM ruling on city’s P600M budget
By Christine Mae A. Pelayo
THE Bacolod City Council will discuss the implication of the Department of Budget and Management’s recommendation on the approved City’s P600 million 2003 budget.
Vice Mayor Ramiro Garcia said they have included the matter in the agenda for Thursday’s session.
On DBM’s recommendation which sustained Mayor Luzviminda Valdez’ partial veto on items which the council inserted, Garcia said it’s the council’s intention that counts.
“What matters most is the intention of the council and not that we lost,” he said.
Valdez, on the other hand, welcomed the DBM’s ruling. “I am happy with the review of the DBM because it has sustained all my veto message in the budget. All the items inserted and increased by the council are in violation of the (1991) Local Government Code,” she said.
The items inserted in the budget as provided in the budget’s Section 4 are the terminal leave pay, collective negotiations agreement (signing bonus), loyalty differentials, purchase of dumpsite, land and land improvement, purchase of Medicare, gender advocacy development, aid to 61 barangays, equipment outlay, building and structures outlay, aid to Liga ng mga Barangay, aid to the Sangguniang Kabataan Federation, senior citizens, and the People’s Law Enforcement Board (Pleb).
Valdez said that about P10 million savings from the unfilled but budgeted positions could still be used to fund the program fund workers such as the traffic aides.
The DBM’s recommendation also considered the budget operative in the beginning of the ensuing calendar year subject, however, to certain conditions.
These include:
- The total Personal Services (PS) exceeds by P97,846,980.26 of the total 45 percent limitation provided under Section 325 of Republic Act (RA) 7160 and Local Budget Circular (LBC) No. 75, thus the City can no longer provide for additional PS costs like hiring of casuals and new positions;
The project funded under the 20 percent Development Fund shall be consistent with the approved Annual Development Plan of the city; at least five percent of the total appropriation shall consider the projects identified to support for Gender and Development (GAD) Plan;
Payment of the Personal Services items shall be subject to existing guidelines; the expenditure program of the city mayor correspondingly be adjusted upon receipt of the final Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA), subject to enactment of a supplemental appropriation.
(July 17, 2003 issue)
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