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Monday, July 11, 2005
Gwen’s camp insists on right to set budget
THE restoration of Capitol’s supplemental budget to its original amount after it was slashed by the Provincial Board (PB) is within the power of Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, her consultant said.
Capitol consultant Pablo John Garcia said the governor exercised her power to line-veto and she only vetoed those amending the appropriation, but not the whole item.
PB Member Juan Bolo earlier said he believes the governor cannot restore the original amount of the supplemental budget, although she has the power to veto.
Bolo has said if the board did not override her veto, then the appropriation of the previous year—corresponding to the vetoed item—will be reenacted. If there are items vetoed that are not in the previous year’s appropriation, the item will have no appropriation at all.
Bolo cited Section 55 of the Local Government Code: “The vetoed item or items shall not take effect unless the Sanggunian overrides the veto…otherwise, the item or items in the appropriation ordinance of the previous year corresponding to the vetoed item, if any, shall be deemed reenacted.”
Difference
Pablo John, however, explained that what Bolo meant was an item veto and not a line veto.
“There’s a difference between a line veto and item veto. He is right if he is talking about item veto because this means the whole item is vetoed, including the appropriation, so it will go back to last year’s appropriation. But what the governor vetoed was the line amending the supplemental budget submitted by the executive. The line is deleted but the item and the original appropriation remain,” he said.
Pablo John said he will talk with PB Member Bolo today regarding the matter.
The vetoed supplemental budget of the governor has been referred to the committee on laws for review.
A proposed ordinance seeks to repeal the legislation that allows the governor and vice governor to augment any item in the annual budget within the same expense class.
“Obviously, the purpose is to tie the hands of the executive so that she can’t do anything and she can’t implement projects smoothly. It is not in good
But Quisumbing’s new ordinance provides that any move to spend from savings, even from within the same expense class, must be done only through a valid ordinance from the PB.
Quisumbing’s ordinance states that the Local Government Code “clearly” provides that every augmentation made by the local chief executive or the presiding officer of the PB “may be authorized only through an ordinance.”
The Garcia camp has used the 2002 ordinance to justify the spending of funds for the outsourcing of medical workers.
Garcia also ordered the release of the P1,000 educational assistance bonus for Capitol employees, without preparing a supplemental budget for it. MBG
(July 11, 2005 issue)
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