Tuesday, August 19, 2008 Opposition bloc ‘protects’ funds
OPPOSITION officials of Compostela, Cebu yesterday dismissed insinuations that they crippled the delivery of the Municipal Government’s basic services after they deferred approval of the proposed P58-million annual budget.
In a news conference yesterday, Councilor Tessa Cang, head of the committee on finance and appropriations, said that the town council was merely protecting taxpayers’ funds from possible misuse.
“If protecting the town’s coffers is big mistake, then we are guilty,” said Cang.
Also present during the news conference were Sangguniang Kabataan Federation President Mell Inao Alvarado, Vice Mayor Joel Quiño and Councilors Josephine Abing, Joselito Reynes, Joy Ann Cabatingan and Wilfredo Calo.
When sought for comment, Mayor Ritchie Wagas told Sun.Star Cebu that it was the town’s treasury office that prepared the annual budget estimates.
After that, Wagas said the treasurer’s office forwarded the proposed budget to the local finance committee for a thorough evaluation.
The mayor denied Cang’s claim that once the council approves the proposed budget, the Municipal Government would go bankrupt.
About a hundred residents of Compostela town marched to the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas last week and filed an administrative complaint against four of their town leaders.
The complainants accused the vice mayor and Councilors Cang, Abing and Reynes—of the town’s committee on finance and appropriations—of failing to perform their official functions.
The protesters were led by former mayor Gilbert Wagas, the incumbent mayor’s brother.
The committee deferred the approval of the budget, which the mayor submitted for review last Oct. 22.
Wagas said the treasurer would not prepare an “unrealistic budget” for the town’s expenditures.
But Cang denied that the city council was politicizing the issue.
They deferred the approval of the budget, the councilor explained, because of “legitimate issues” that are being discussed with the local finance committee.
When Wagas assumed office in July 2007, Cang lamented that the mayor submitted a lot of supplemental budgets even if the council had yet to pass the pending budget requests.
Cang warned the town government may face bankruptcy if the 2008 proposed budget gets approved without passing the council’s scrutiny.
Likewise, she questioned the legality of the 250 job-order employees hired by Wagas, whose salaries, she said, will cost the Municipal Government about P4.5 million a month.
Cang said that Wagas asked for so much when he proposed an annual budget of P58 million.
She said the town council is at a loss on where it could get enough funds, pointing out that the previous administration only asked for a P36-million annual budget.
Cang clarified the town council was not trying to cripple the delivery of basic services, but wants to help the administration in the proper use of government funds.
The town councilor also explained that the council was willing to settle the issue with the mayor, but “unfortunately Wagas was reluctant.”
Councilor Abing, also an appropriations committee member, said that Mayor Wagas had requested about P1.5 million for the acquisition and establishment of the town’s sanitary landfill.
But she said the appropriations committee decided to slash it to P800,000 because their resources were limited.
Vice Mayor Quiño agreed with the members of the town council, saying they were simply protecting public funds.
Quiño said the opposition councilors are willing to go to jail if their decision to protect the town’s funds was wrong.
Without an approved annual budget, a local government is forced to reenact its previous measure. This, however, keeps local officials from introducing new expense items or programs into the budget. (GMD)
