Monday, December 03, 2007 Mayor seeks P27M extra budget By Linette C. Ramos Sun.Star Staff Reporter
CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is proposing a P27-million supplemental budget that will fund construction projects at the South Road Properties (SRP), Christmas gifts to barangay officials and employees and other projects.
Some P7.1 million will be spent for construction projects at the SRP, P3 million for the renovation of the Carbon market unit III and P1.35 million to install electrical posts at the City Hall legislative building.
“This P7.1-million item is part of the funding for the projects at the Pond F of the SRP. We are developing a white sand beach and a boardwalk there, which we believe will increase the marketability of that area,” City Administrator Francisco Fernandez told Sun.Star Cebu.
Aid to barangays, which amounts to P6 million, will be used to buy sacks of rice for barangay officials and employees, City Councilor Jose Daluz III said.
Christmas gift
Daluz said the purchase is made every December and serves as the City Government’s Christmas gift to the employees and officials in the 80 barangays.
The City Council has invited department heads from the executive department to the hearing on the proposed supplemental budget, the sixth this year. It was proposed less than two months after the fifth supplemental budget was approved.
Daluz said they will know the specific details of the proposed items in the budget since most of these are projects of the executive department.
Of the P27,046,758.68 proposed budget, P16,828,824 will come from the General Fund, while the remaining P10,217,934.68 will be charged to the Local Development Fund and income from operations of public markets.
Other items included in the budget are the repair and maintenance of the dental mobile van, P1.6 million; medicines and medical supplies for the dental van, P1 million; telephone wirings for the legislative building, P656,322; subsidy to non-government organizations, P700,000; and garbage collection expenses, P97,000.
6th this year
Expenses related to the first “Cebu City +10” Development Strategy Summit amounting to P278,430 were also included in the proposed budget.
Last October, the council passed the fifth supplemental budget amounting to P26.92 million, which was intended for the construction of three bridges in different mountain barangays.
A month before that, the fourth supplemental budget (P68.964 million) was approved to fund the furniture and equipment of the council offices, water bills and maintenance and other operating expenses of City-run hospitals.
In July, the third supplemental budget, which totaled P172.44 million, was approved. More than half of the amount went to debt-servicing, specifically the second amortization payment this year for the City’s P6.3-billion loan for the SRP.
