Monday, July 21, 2003
P1.9 million for travels of Cebu City officials
By JASMIN G. SUMA-OY
Of Sun.Star Cebu
THE Cebu City Government has spent about P1 million for the foreign trips of eight city officials.
On top of that, the local travels of Mayor Tomas Osmeña, Vice Mayor Michael Rama and 17 councilors took P909,607 out of City Hall’s coffers.
This brings to a total of over P1.9 million the City’s expenses for the trips of its elected officials for the past two years.
City Hall records show that only Councilor Vicente Kintanar has not made any trip since he took his post in City Hall in March 2002, to replace resigned councilor Firmo Dayao.
Kintanar said that while some public officials consider traveling as part of the perks in their position, for him “it is not enjoyable to be spending people’s money.”
Vice Mayor Rama, however, said there is nothing wrong with spending public funds, if what the elected officials learned from their trips is used for the good of the city.
It is only wrong if the travels are only used for “lulinghayaw” or gallivanting, according to the vice mayor.
A public official needs to get the approval of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) in Manila if his travel abroad will involve public funds.
Not free
If the trip is “personal” and the official will use his own money for it, he only needs to notify the DILG office in Cebu City and file a leave of absence.
So far, Osmeña only let the City pay for his travels to Singapore, Amsterdam and Korea, although he made more than three official trips abroad since he returned to City Hall in July 2001.
Accounting records showed invitations abroad through the sister-city programs are not entirely expense-free.
Vice Mayor Rama, Councilors Jocelyn Pesquera and Procopio Fernandez traveled to Ohio, USA in July last year for the sister-city annual conference. That cost the City P323,087.
Rama made a cash advance of P122,500 for the Ohio trip; Fernandez, P127,768; and Pesquera, P72,819.
The City spent P419,664 when four councilors attended the Philippine Independence Day parade in New York last June.
For that trip, Councilor Christopher Alix made a cash advance of P105,469; Danilo Fernan, P104,638; Eugenio Gabuya, P104,919; and Arsenio Pacaña, P104,638.
Pacaña, who is chairman of the committee on tourism, also let the City pay P49,792 for his official travel to the Netherlands in May 2002.
Advances
City Hall records show that the following officials made either the following cash advances or collected reimbursements for their foreign trips:
Osmeña, P187,623; Councilors Arsenio Pacaña, P154,430; Procopio Fernandez, P127,768; Vice Mayor Rama; P122,500; Christopher Alix, P105,469; Eugenio Gabuya, P104,919; Danilo Fernan, P104,638; and Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera, P72,819.
According to Rama, the big amounts spent for the officials’ travel abroad went to allowances, plane tickets, hotel accommodations, registration fees and other expenses.
Every now and then, the City’s elected officials also travel to Manila or other provinces to attend meetings or seminars, give speeches or represent the City in a public hearing.
For each of these travels, the City also spends P1,370 to as much as P11,757 per official.
The City, for instance, spent an average of P6,000 for the City Hall officials who attended the “Araw ng Davao” last March.
Moving around
Osmeña made the most number of local trips and spent the highest amount for these, at P238,205.
From 2001 to June this year, the mayor made at least 39 local trips, mostly to Manila.
Sangguniang Kabataan Federation President Glena Bontuyan incurred the highest expenditure, at P74,644 for her 12 trips, such as when she attended the election of the SK national officers in Manila, a tourism conference in Baguio City and the SK national convention in Subic, Zambales.
Next to her is Councilor Gerardo Carillo, who incurred a cash advance of P64,685 for the 10 trips he made outside Cebu. Most of Carillo’s travels are for the Philippine Councilors’ League and National Movement of Young Legislators, where he is an officer.
The City’s expenditures for trips also included: Vice Mayor Rama, P63,906; Archival, P56,654; Legaspi, P53,310; Fernan, P45,520; Piramide, P39, 691; Pacaña, P36,515; Jakosalem, P35,472; Fernandez, P32,630; Leyson, P29,523; Pesquera, P28,628; Alix, P25,741; Abellanosa, P25,075; Sesante, P24,789; Rama, P18,685; and Faelnar, P15,934.
Gabuya did not have any local travel.
(July 21, 2003 issue)
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