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Saturday, March 13, 2004
City accountant pushed by Tom
By Linette C. Ramos
CEBU City -- Mayor Tomas Osmeņa Friday threatened to file a complaint against City Accountant Edna Jaca for not implementing his order to subsidize voluntary contributions of students in public schools.
Osmeņa said he will file a complaint against Jaca before the Office of the Ombudsman for sitting on her job and for not releasing the payment for the students' school fees, which he ordered last year yet.
Jaca, wife of opposition party Kugi Uswag Sugbo's (Kusug) campaign manager Tarsiano Jaca, has always been uncooperative in implementing the city's projects, Osmeņa told a news conference Friday.
"The payment of the students' school fees is still not settled because the city accountant is with Kusug and she's sitting on it. She better do something about it or else I'll file a complaint before the ombudsman," the mayor said.
By delaying the release of the funds for school fees, Jaca is making the public school students and their parents suffer, the mayor added.
So sue: Jaca
In an interview Friday, Jaca challenged the mayor to file a complaint against her.
"He should go ahead and file it because we're not sitting on it. The papers are not even with us anymore. We gave it to the local school board for action in February yet," Jaca said.
She explained that they already gathered the documents needed to pay the students' fees, but she suspended it since voluntary contributions are not covered by the Special Education Fund (SEF).
Jaca said the Commission on Audit (COA) will disallow payment of school fees using the SEF, because school fees are not among the items listed in the Local Government Code for which the special fund can be used.
In an interview last year, COA 7 chief legal officer Roy Ursal had said the "dole-outs" might fall under the ban on disbursing public funds for private purposes.
He urged City Hall to make sure the subsidy plan is supported by the Local Government Code or a Department of Budget and Management circular.
Four vouchers amounting to about P1.5 million were forwarded to the school board for review, so that it can come up with a joint circular authorizing the inclusion of the school fees in the SEF.
The City Government needs at least P1.5 million to reimburse the students who already paid their school fees and to shoulder the school fees of those who want to join the Boys and Girls' Scouts of the Philippines and the Philippine National Red Cross.
Tom: Sabotage
But the circular may not be released yet because Cebu City Schools Superintendent Leonilo Oliva is still consulting the Department of Education (DepEd) central office on the matter.
Oliva said he already asked for DepEd's opinion if the City Government is allowed to pay for the students' school fees using the SEF, but he has yet to receive a reply.
He said, though, that based on the case of Cebu Province against COA, the court ruled in favor of the province when it used the SEF for payment of salary, allowances and honoraria of teaching personnel.
Osmeņa said it is not the first time that Jaca refused to heed his orders. She also did not file the complaint against Saikoh motors for alleged overpricing of vehicle spare parts.
"They love to sabotage my administration. This is one lapse that, to me, is a part of harassment sa mga nahabiling badlongon," the mayor said.
Osmeņa questioned the "voluntary contributions" when classes opened last year and urged parents to demand a refund from the schools, saying the City Government will pay for these fees instead.
He said that a political supporter had tried to borrow P270 from him to pay enrolment fees.
(March 13, 2004 issue)
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