|
Thursday, January 30, 2003
COA asked: Probe trucks, P32M aid
CEBU -- In moves that could strain their political ties but benefit the Cebuano voter, both Mayor Tomas Osmeņa and the Cebu City Council Wednesday asked the Commission on Audit (COA) to step into the dump truck deal and the barangay aid fund.
The mayor wants COA technical people to inspect a fleet of dump trucks, a day after he agreed that these were used and that a new bidding should be called. The move surprised Vice Mayor Michael Rama, who said he thought the matter was already settled.
"Our role is finished; it's now up to the local awards committee to entertain the mayor's suggestion. But our understanding is that the City will no longer purchase them as brand new," Rama said.
From his reading of the action of the mayor, Osmeņa is trying to find what procedures can be adopted to have the dump trucks purchased by the City, Rama told Sun.Star in a break during the council session.
Osmeņa asked City Treasurer Ofelia Oliva to personally deliver his letter to COA 7 Director Linda Solite Wednesday.
For its part, the City Council asked COA if the mayor is allowed to disburse P32 million to the barangays even without a City Council resolution.
The councilors are mad that the mayor undermined their power to approve resolutions for the disbursement of the lump sum budget to specific barangays to ensure check and balance.
It took them more than three hours to discuss the issue.
City Accountant Palermo Lugo informed the councilors that the vouchers for the release of the funds were supported only by the mayor's list of the recipient barangays, but the councilors do not know which villages these are and how much they got.
Rama, the presiding officer, noted the referral of the matter to the national agencies is embarrassing because as if the city's budget and accounting people do not know the procedures.
Rama said he has been 10 years in government and it has been the usual practice that the specific use of approved lump sum appropriation goes back to the council for scrutiny.
"The power to appropriate is within the power of the City Council. It is does not belong to the mayor. If appropriate amount for aid to barangays, the mayor cannot just give it to anybody," a fuming Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera said during the session.
Rama said that when the council approved the P34 million allocations for "aid to barangays" in the City's supplemental budget as requested by Osmeņa, "we thought procedures would be followed."
They expected the specific use of the budget to go back to the council, and he was "caught by surprise" when he learned that this was already distributed to the barangays.
Last Dec. 4, the council approved three resolutions authorizing the city accountant to charge to the "aid to barangays" the projects of Calamba, Pasil and Kamagayan that its officials' want to be charged to their share of the fund.
However, Osmeņa vetoed the resolutions saying these are no longer necessary since the council already approved the P34-million budget.
For the sake of "autonomy," the mayor left it to the barangay officials' discretion where they want to use the fund.
As he had announced, only the barangays whose chiefs are loyal to him and did not sign the recall petition against him will get a P500,000 to P1 million share from the budget.
Rama pointed out yesterday that the real reason why the mayor vetoed the resolutions was because the money was already released to the barangays.
"So, it's already moot and academic," the vice mayor said.
From the P34-million approved budget for "aid to barangays", P2 million was spent for the additional allowance of garbage collectors and drivers.
City Budget Officer Nelfa Briones told the Council yesterday that as of now, only over P700,000 is left in the account.
The minority bloc in the council has consistently objected to the budget because of its selective distribution.
It was Councilor Danilo Fernan who moved that the council ask the opinion of the budget officer whether it is legal for Osmeņa to release the amounts to barangays without council resolutions.
Briones submitted a letter to the council yesterday saying that the financial assistance to various barangays is charged under "aid to barangays" and it is not a discretionary fund of the mayor.
The opinion, which they said did not answer their query, did not satisfy the councilors.
Rama then summoned Briones and later Lugo to the session hall to answer their questions.
"What is objectionable is the release of the funds based on the list of the mayor. And the immorality in the action is that only those who are close with the mayor got the lion's share. The other barangays didn't get any," Councilor Vicente Kintanar said.
During the deliberation that eat more than two hours of the session, Lugo said resolutions are needed to support the vouchers for the amount released to the different barangays.
His "understanding" was that there were resolutions.
When he called his division head, Agnes Tabares, he was told that a list made by the mayor of the barangays that should get the amount was used to support the vouchers.
When bombarded with a lot of questions, Briones failed to categorically say whether the resolutions were necessary.
Rama said, though, that it seems Briones and Lugo have conflicting opinions.
The councilors, except for Gabriel Leyson, decided to refer the matter to COA.
On motions of Councilor Carmelita Piramide, the council approved a separate resolution also seeking the Department of Budget and Management's opinion.
Leyson and Gerardo Carillo registered their objections.(JGS of Sun.Star Cebu) |
|
|
|
 |
| click
to comment on this article or discuss it with other readers |
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
Jimenez to post bail; John O to get deposition