THE ordinance providing supplemental funding for the construction of the municipal annex building in San Simon town remains in limbo at the Municipal Council.
Vice Mayor Leonora Wong said the ordinance has been pending at the local council for over a month since Mayor Abundio Punsalan Jr. requested for its approval.
The budget in discussion was the P13.5 million that was sought to be appropriated for Covid-related expenses, construction of the Phase III of Municipal Annex Building, as well as its electrical needs.
Under the draft Ordinance 21-0010 sponsored by Councilor Romanoel Santos, some P3.7 million from the said budget will be allocated for the procurement of Covid-19 medicines, supplies and other materials, while the remaining P9.8 million will be used for the building.
The proposed ordinance, however, was unanimously junked by the council during the regular session held on April 16.
"This was the first time in the administration of Mayor Punsalan that his request was denied by the council. Prior to this, all resolutions and ordinances certified by the mayor were immediately approved," said Wong.
She added that during the session, Municipal Council members all agreed that the P13.5 million will be allocated for the purchase of Covid-19 vaccines.
Sudden change of mind
A week after the session, April 23, the proposed ordinance was reintroduced by Santos despite not being included in the day's agenda.
Punsalan also attended the second session to finally shed light on the concerns of the councilors regarding the funding for Covid-19 vaccine.
During the session, Punsalan clarified that he already realigned P9-million budget for the purchase of the Covid-19 vaccines from the Local Development Fund.
This was when Wong questioned the availability of the said funds as they are coming from the monthly income of the local government.
She said the budget realigned by Punsalan for the vaccines are expected to be available by the third quarter of the year.
"How can we spend the money that isn't available yet? I guess everybody can agree that the purchase of Covid-19 vaccine is more necessary than constructing a municipal building, so why not allocate the funds that are already available instead of waiting for the funds that aren't available yet?" Wong said.
Wong also questioned the need to rush the completion of the municipal building, saying it is not necessary during this pandemic.
She said the project already received funding thrice but remains unfinished until now.
"During the campaign, he was saying that there is no need for another municipal hall so he abandoned the one being constructed at the Local Government Center but now he is prioritizing the same project. It only shows that we actually share the same priority which is the construction of the municipal building," she said.
Available funds
For his part, Punsalan assured that the funds he realigned will be available by July, as they are part of the local government's monthly internal revenue allotment.
"The funds for the vaccine are just actually for standby because there is no available vaccine for purchase yet for the Philippines. There is even a chance we will be able to collect the budget first than the vaccines be available for purchase," he said.
In case the vaccines will suddenly be available for purchase, Punsalan said the local government has some P20 million available funds ready for realignment anytime.
He cited Section 337 of the Local Government Code, which authorizes him to continuously disburse funds in case of emergency such as the global pandemic.
"There is no need to worry because we have funds for the vaccines, either from the Local Development Funds or the cash on hand of the treasury. So why do we need to postpone our other projects if we have available budget for all?" the mayor asked.
Punsalan also stressed the need to extend the existing municipal building as it is only crowded and now poses a threat for Covid-19.
He added that the project was started before the pandemic and leaving it idle would waste government funds and resources.
"I don't see any problem here because there is money and there will be money. It is very clear that this is all just politics," said Punsalan.
Meanwhile, six councilors voted for the approval of the proposed ordinance, which would essentially pass it into law.
However, Wong stressed the need to have a legal basis before officially approving it, as it was initially junked during the past session.
"Based on my research, the ordinance must be reintroduced first with a different ordinance number and must pass through the first reading again which did not happen during this session. So we are just seeking legal basis before finally approving it," she said.