THE Mandaue City Council has approved the ordinance formalizing the deed of donation of 15 vehicles to Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) chairpersons across the city’s 15 barangays, despite objections from three councilors during the regular session held Monday morning, June 9, 2025.
Among those who voted against the ordinance were Councilors Joel Seno, Andreo Icalina and Cesar Cabahug, allies of Mayor-elect Thadeo Jovito “Jonkie” Ouano.
Seno questioned the timing of the donation, pointing out that the vehicles had already been turned over to the SK chairpersons as early as November last year, months before the proposal was officially deliberated.
“If the intention was to donate the vehicles, why only now? Why not formalize it earlier? The timing is questionable,” Seno said.
He reasoned that several City Government offices, including the City Health Office, Market Operations and the Agriculture Office, still lack adequate transportation, suggesting the vehicles could have been better allocated to departments with pressing logistical needs.
According to city records, the 15 vehicles are box-type vans with a total estimated cost of around P17 million. They were procured under the 2024 budget and distributed late last year to each barangay SK council for use in youth programs and community activities.
Seno said the move raises suspicions that it is meant to preempt the incoming administration from making decisions on how the assets should be used. He also echoed the concern that the SK lacks the operational capacity to maintain the vehicles.
“They cannot legally hire drivers, and SK funds are not meant for these kinds of recurring expenses,” Seno said.
Official use
SK Federation President and Councilor Fleuritz Gayle Jumao-as defended the donation, saying the vehicles have helped SK councils carry out their programs more efficiently.
She also assured that the units are intended for official SK use, not for the personal use of the SK chairpersons.
Jumao-as said that the city government is currently shouldering the salaries of the job order (JO) drivers assigned to each SK vehicle.
She also denied that the recipient- barangays are political allies.
“It just so happened that the budget could only cover 15 vehicles, and the barangays selected were those that had the most urgent need for transportation,” she said.
The 15 SK chairpersons that received vehicles are from Barangays Paknaan, Labogon, Looc, Maguikay, Casuntingan, Subangdaku, Basak, Casili, Banilad, Bakilid, Tingub, Cubacub, Cabancalan, Canduman and Tawason.
Jumao-as said that the donation was only formalized now because even if the administration had wanted to act on it earlier, it was unable to do so because of the election ban.
Gonzalo “Sally” Malig-on, incoming city administrator, earlier questioned whether the SK councils are equipped to manage the vehicles, citing restrictions in the SK Reform Act which prohibit the hiring of personnel and the allocation of SK funds for salaries or personal services.
He said that decisions involving city assets should be carefully evaluated and ideally left to the incoming administration, which will take over on June 30. / Cav