Thursday, August 05, 2004 With failed budget, no bonus, pork at Capitol By Charmaine Y. Rodriguez
THE Cebu Provincial Government has enough money to keep the roof over its head, but the governor said benefits and services could be stalled if the long-delayed 2004 budget is not passed.
Capitol’s leaking, rusty and deteriorating roof is in for a much-needed repair after Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia inspected it yesterday, the third day of the weeklong celebration of Cebu Province’s 435th anniversary.
Not much has been done to repair or preserve the roof of the Capitol building, which was inaugurated in 1938 yet and rebuilt in 1946 after the war, Garcia said.
While she is “comfortable working with the 2003 reenacted budget,” the governor explained that without the 2004 outlay, the anniversary bonus for the employees, given every three years, will not be granted this year.
The promised increase in the meal allowances of provincial jail inmates, night premiums of health workers in the district hospitals and even the project funds of the Provincial Board members will also be affected.
“There are so many matters needed to be considered. There’s so much they (PB) can do. Before, all that was in the budget was subject to suspicion because we were facing elections. But now, elections are over and we have a new board,” Garcia said.
Vice Gov. Gregorio Sanchez Jr. has said he is amenable to finishing the year operating on the reenacted 2003 budget, as they will already be preparing for the 2005 budget anyway.
After a meeting with the governor and the board members last Monday, Sanchez has said they could not pass the proposed budget of then governor Pablo Garcia, which was P1.285 billion, as the previous PB has passed the slashed budget of P1.01 billion.
Sanchez, who until June 30 was a PB member, said that if they pass the original proposal, they would have to withdraw what was approved during the previous board.
New budget
It will be a slap on their faces, he added.
Asked about this, the governor just said, “Let’s not complicate our lives. We have a new board now. The question is whether we will pass the 2004 budget or we will just continue with the reenacted budget.”
As to the roof repairs, the contractor will be required to put in remedial measures so there will be no flooding inside the offices while portions of the roof will be taken out for fixing.
“We will impose a condition that if it floods, we will charge them for liquidated damages,” Garcia told reporters.
A private contractor will do the work. Garcia prefers “experts” to do the repair rather than rely on Capitol’s engineering department.
“I don’t want temporary remedies. I want to address the problem with one clean sweep,” she said.
The amount that will be spent for the repair will be charged against the continuing appropriation for the improvement of the Capitol and its premises.
When she inspected the dome, she noticed a damaged or chipped portion that needs to be attended to immediately.
Garcia is concerned that the damage will destroy the murals under the dome.
“This place is historical, almost sacred. We must keep this in tiptop condition,” she added.
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