MAYORALTY aspirant Alexander S. Cauguiran disclosed that he has formally requested the City Government of Angeles to amend the budget ordinance appropriating P1-billion for the construction of a new City Hall and a sports complex.
The former Clark airport chief described the projects as “nonessential and not responsive to the priority needs of Angeles city residents.”
Cauguiran’s appeal came amid the growing speculations from several quarters that the projects are being fast-tracked in preparation for the elections next year.
In his letter dated November 5, 2018 and sent by registered mail to Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan and Vice-Mayor Bryan Nepomuceno, Cauguiran wrote that “as a concerned tax payer and resident of Angeles City, may I formally appeal to the Honorable Gentlemen to amend the city government’s Appropriation Ordinance No. 325, S-2017, S-2017 (PO-1045-07-18).”
Under the said ordinance, Cauguiran explained that the total sources of funds amounted to P1,292,428,720.23.
These came from two separate borrowings from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) in the total amount of P1,226,800,000; the city government’s savings – P10,527,900.00; and Reverted appropriations from debt service – P27,732,475.76, medical trust fund (MTF) - P14,058,837.00, Renal Care Unit - P4,197,816.00, and Surplus from the 2017 PAGCOR fund – P9,111,691.47, he added.
“The ordinance appropriated P580 million for the construction of a new 5-storey city hall with a P60-million multi-level steel parking, and P360 million for a sports complex for a total P1-billion which I am now appealing to be used for the Ospital Ning Angeles (ONA) and the City College of Angeles (CCA) by way of amending the ordinance. I am not objecting to the other appropriated items like the clothing allowance for employees, purchase of vehicles, dialysis machines, and other essential outlays,” Cauguiran said.
He added that the vice-mayor, as presiding officer of the City Council, whose primary functions include the use of the city’s financial resources, has failed to conduct a thorough study of the projects.
“In the first place, the vice-mayor should have conducted public hearings on the mayor’s request for authority to secure a loan og P1,226,800,000 from which P1-billion will be used for the new city hall, multi-level steel parking, and sports complex. From all indications, it appeared that the passage of the appropriation ordinance was simply railroaded, without consultation with the various sectors of the city. The council is a deliberative body and as the head of the council, the vice-mayor should have moved very cautiously because the projects have to be funded through a long-term loan,” Cauguiran said.
“This is where I differ from him in matters of public policies. Aside from my firm belief in public consultation, I can emphatize with ordinary residents and relate to the needs and aspirations of ordinary families because I am from them,” Cauguiran said.
“Why do we still have to build a sports complex,” Cauguiran said, “when a bigger one that meets international competition standards is already being constructed at the New Clark City? An aquatic center similar to the London Aquatic Center for the 2010 Olympics is also being built. In addition, there will be an athletes’ village with 500 rooms that can house up to 1,000 athletes. The Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) has also announced that a world-class football pitch will be one of the open sports facilities at the Clark Parade Ground which is being developed into a premier sports tourism and eco-tourism site. All these facilities are just minutes away from Angeles City,” he said.
“Surely, as one of the LGU’s who concurred with the creation of the Clark Special Economic Zone, we could always draw up a Memorandum of Agreement with the Clark Development Corporation (CDC) and BCDA with regards to the use of these facilities, including the training of our athletes for regional, national, and even international competitions. Building another sports complex in Angeles would simply be a costly redundancy, especially because this will be funded by borrowed money to be repaid over a long period of 15 years. This is aside from the previous loans that the city government is heavily burdened with. In fact this year alone, the city has appropriated P176 million for debt service,” Cauguiran added.
Cauguiran said that even if the bidding of the sports complex had already been held on September 25, 2018, no award has yet been made.
“My layman’s understanding of Section 41 of the Government Procurement Reform Act (Republic Act No. 9184),” Cauguiran said, “is that the city mayor can still opt not to award the project by invoking Section 41 (c) of the procurement law’s implementing rules and regulations.