CEBU City councilors approved yesterday the P483.8-million second supplemental budget (SB) that includes funding for senior citizens and other social welfare programs.
The City Council, however, will leave it to Mayor Tomas Osmeña to decide when the P78-million financial aid will be released to the elderly, as well as the P16 million for persons with disabilities (PWDs).
As for the P6 million allocation for the City’s burial assistance program, Councilor Jose Daluz III said they will immediately release the funds to barangay coordinators who implement the program.
Daluz is the chairman of the council’s committee on budget and finance.
In a separate interview, City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said the City will distribute the P4,000 cash assistance to the 32,000 senior citizens in February or March, before the Commission on Elections’ ban on certain expenditures takes effect.
All PWDs residing in the city will also get P2,000 each.
Ban
The financial aid, which will be coursed through the Department of Social Welfare Services, is covered by the Comelec ban.
City Hall is also set to implement the 25-percent salary increase for all city officials and its regular and casual employees. The P98 million lump sum appropriation for the pay hike was included in SB No. 2.
Identified fund sources for the budget are the P272.57 million from the General Fund proper, and P193.98 million from the special accounts of income-generating offices of the City.
Also included in the budget is the P30 million intended for the City’s medical assistance program, with the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC), Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) and “Tambal ni Mayor” getting P10 million each.
Other items in the budget are projects for the barangays in the north and south district amounting to P150 million, P7 million for the deodorizer for the Inayawan sanitary landfill, and some P19.7 million for the honorarium increase of 1,600 barangay tanods, 115 day care teachers and 1,600 Lupon Tagapamayapa members from January to April.