THE Cebu City Council is seeking to pass a third supplemental budget (SB3) amounting to P1.3 billion to provide funds to cover the financial assistance for senior citizens and City Hall’s expenses, among others.
The council is expected to deliberate on the SB3 this week, said Councilor Noel Wencesalao, chairman of the committee on budget and finance.
Wenceslao told SunStar Cebu on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, that the extra budget is necessary to cover the P1,000 monthly cash aid to over 90,000 elderly from September to December.
He said the proposed amount includes the financial assistance for persons with disability and barangay workers like tanods and members of the Lupon Tagapamayapa.
Wenceslao said the City also lacks funds to cover the cost of fuel due to the successive oil price hikes over the past few months.
“We need also to allocate more for gasoline because the amount we set aside for this purpose is no longer enough,” he said in a mix of Cebuano and English.
According to Wenceslao, the funds for the SB3 will come from the executive department’s unexpended funds that will be realigned for other purposes.
Asked about the specific budget allocation, Wenceslao replied that they are still finalizing the budget ordinance before submitting it to the council.
The council approved SB1 amounting to P1.6 million in February and SB2 amounting to P1.2 billion in June.