PORAC -- A municipal councilor here said that he will quit the mayoralty race if their incumbent mayor will be able to prove that there was no single irregularity in the disbursement of local government funds.
Councilor Mike Tapang, who is running against incumbent Mayor Condralito “Carling” Dela Cruz, issued the statement during the Pampanga Press Club’s recent media forum at the Widus Hotel and Casino.
Tapang said that Dela Cruz in return should quit his reelection bid in the upcoming polls if the mayor fails to justify and liquidate his discretionary funds and other expenses.
“We repeatedly asked the mayor to report detailed expenditures to the Sangguniang Bayan through a State of the Municipality Address (Soma),” he said.
Tapang, who belongs to the council’s opposition and majority bloc, said they cannot approve the town’s budget for this year without the mayor’s expense report.
The councilor questioned Dela Cruz’s request for diesel amounting to P2.5 million, representation expense worth P3.5 million and the miscellaneous expense of P3.5 million.
Councilor Regin Clarete, Tapang’s ally in the town council, said that some proposed appropriations in the town’s 2016 budget of P270 million seemed to be excessive.
“If they asking for a certain item for a certain budget, we are only asking to defend nila yun kung bakit ganun kalaki ang hinihingi nila. That is the purpose of budget deliberation for us,” said Clarete, vice chair of the council committee on appropriations.
Tapang, who holds a seat in the Provincial Board representing the Pampanga Councilors League, cited in particular the non-office budget under the Office of the Mayor.
He said Dela Cruz’s manner of spending his discretionary funds for financial assistance and development funds is not at par with that of Governor Lilia Pineda.
Tapang said the governor always asked the Provincial Board for permission through a resolution before providing financial assistance to people, barangay leaders and health workers.
Tapang also asked the mayor to provide a detailed report on the local government’s 20 percent development fund of P4 million.
“Sino ba yung mga recipient na mga barangays na sinasabi nila P150,000 lang ang ibinibigay sa annual investment plan for every barangay. Ang audit po namin dun ay P4.3 million lamang, saan po napupunta yung excess?” Tapang said.
The councilor also asked the mayor where the P3 million funds intended for the municipal solid waste management go.
He said that based on the records of the Kalangitan Sanitary Landfill in Capas, Tarlac, the town only paid Metro Clark Waste Management Corporation tipping fees of P500,000 in 2014 and P8,000 in 2013.
All of these alleged irregular transactions reflect in the observations and remarks of the Commission on Audit (COA) report, said Tapang.
Tapang said his group decided not to file charges against the mayor regarding the issues to prevent their constituents from assuming that their actions are vested interest and politically-motivated.
He also asked Dela Cruz to give details about his donation and grants amounting to P14 million, calamity fund (P13.5 million), maintenance and operating expenses (P10 million) used in the compensation of job order employees, salaries of casual employees (P18 million), subsidy to the Don Honorio Ventura Technological State University (DHVTSU) satellite campus (P3 million).
Tapang also questioned the P30-million road project in Sapang Uwak funded by the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza).
He said Dela Cruz should have suggested to the agency the realignment of funds to other road projects because there is a land dispute in the project site in said area.
The mayor also failed to present a detailed program of work on the Tieza-funded project, said Tapang.
‘Politically-motivated’
Meanwhile, Dela Cruz has denied the allegations of Tapang regarding the alleged irregular expenditures of the local government.
“These [allegations] are politically-motivated,” Dela Cruz said in the vernacular.
According to Dela Cruz, Tapang and his allies in the town council majority bloc deliberately suspend their sessions in order to hold the approval of the budget.
Governor Lilia Pineda already expressed dismay over the failure of the local officials to approve the town’s 2016 budget.
“Ali la (councilors) mag session. Asna neng kamwa I nanay (Pineda). Pane reng pe-pending. Gagawa lang gagawang reason anya e ya magagawa (They do not conduct sessions which are alwas pending that is why the governor is already furious. They always have reasons that is why nothing happens),” Dela Cruz said.
Dela Cruz said he is actually set to deliver his State of the Municipality Address (Soma) and report his accomplishments, which include the local government’s ongoing and future programs.
Dela Cruz also claimed that the opposition group led by Tapang also denied the approval of a resolution granting an authority for the mayor to accept and implement program funded by various government agencies and officials.
Tapang and his group do not want to accept the Tieza-funded road project in Sapang Uwak.
“Para dinan da kung MOA, e la bias. (They don’t want to give me an authority to enter into a memorandum of agreement). ‘Na no’ng karakal detang menga ugse budget a e ra ku buring dinan authority (Several government projects were wasted because they don’t want to give me an authority),” Dela Cruz said.
Some of the projects come from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), congressmen, Senator Lito Lapid and others, according to the mayor.
Tieza, instead, coordinated with the barangay officials through a memorandum of agreement in order to continue the construction of road in Sapang Uwak, Dela Cruz said.
The mayor also responded to the issue on fuel budget, saying the local government maintains vehicles like ambulances and service vehicles of different offices.
Government service vehicles are used in the daily operation of the local government, he said.
Dela Cruz said that Tapang and his allies in the municipal council are showing the people a copy of the 2015 proposed budget, which was not approved.
Some of the proposed appropriation, which includes the budget of the mayor’s office, were slashed, according to him.
With this, Dela Cruz said he was forced to veto last year’s budget because all of his proposed appropriations for various projects were slashed by Tapang’s group.
The mayor said it is his right to veto the budget if the appropriations of the mayor’s office were cut.
“Numanu ku, tikdo na ku mu munisipyo. Paningaya da anyang gagawan de ini, igapus da ku kanu, tanikala da ku pa ba nakung e mikirut (They are bragging they will not allow me to move),” Dela Cruz said.
“Pulitika mu kasi isipan mu na mu for how many years 2010 e no man mag–oppose. ‘Ot ngening tagal yang [mayor] karin ya mu kinaye. Ale? (Why is it that he is opposing only now that he declared to run for mayor,” he added.