A MAJOR debate has sparked in the Cebu City Council over a request for an extra P1 billion in spending. Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña is demanding more transparency, arguing that the city cannot simply hand over such a large amount of money without seeing exactly where every peso is going.
On April 20, 2026, Vice Mayor Osmeña sent a formal letter to the city’s budget office. He asked for a department-by-department breakdown of the proposed Supplemental Budget (SB) 1.
The city wants to spend:
P754 million for daily operations and maintenance.
P210 million for "capital outlay," which usually means equipment or building projects.
Osmeña argues that the Council needs to see the original budget alongside this new request. Without comparing the two, he says, it is impossible to know if the extra money is truly needed or if it is an "urgent" request.
“This is not a small amount,” Osmeña said. “This is almost P1 billion without clear details as to why. Every item needs to be looked at.”
When a city asks for P1 billion without a clear plan, it can be risky. For the people living in Cebu City, these funds are supposed to go toward important things like fixing floods, cleaning rivers, and picking up trash.
If the budget is approved without a detailed list of projects, there is a worry that the money might not be used in the best way possible. Transparency ensures that taxpayers can trust that their money is being spent on the city's most urgent problems.
The city’s leaders are currently divided on how to handle the request:
The Executive View: Mayor Nestor Archival defends the budget, saying the money is needed right away to handle garbage collection and a water shortage during the dry season.
The Oversight View: Vice Mayor Osmeña believes that while some needs are urgent, the Council must still check every item to ensure the city is prioritizing the right things.
While Osmeña has agreed not to block the money meant for garbage collection because of a fuel crisis, he is still closely watching the hundreds of millions of pesos left in the proposal.
The City Council will continue to meet, and they are waiting for the Mayor's office to provide the detailed list of expenses they requested. This decision will determine how the city funds its programs for the rest of 2026.