Council OKs budget minus P200 million

By NITZ ARANCON
and LITO RULONA
Correspondents . 

THE city council on Monday approved a P6.3-billion budget of the local government for this year, P200 million lower than what was proposed by Mayor Oscar Moreno.

Thirteen of the councilors present voted in favor of Councilor Ian Mark Nacaya’s motion to approve City Ordinance 2018-221 that gave the green light for the P6.3-billion budget while three were against it.

Those who voted in favor of the P6.3-billion budget were councilors Teodulfo Lao Jr., Zaldy Ocon, Jay Pascual, Romeo Calizo,  George Goking, Annie Daba, Reuben Daba, Maria Lourdes Gaane, Suzette Daba,  Enrico Salcedo, Alam Lim and John Michael Seno, and Nacaya.

Councilors who objected to the approval of the annual budget were Leon Gan, Lordan Suan and Nadya Elipe.

Councilor Edna Dahino, chairperson of the city council’s appropriations committee, was absent while Councilor Dometillo Acenas Jr. was out of the city council’s session hall when the proposed budget was approved.

The city council’s approved budget is some P200 million lower than Mayor Moreno’s  proposed P6.5-billion budget for this year.

The ordinance set a P5.680-billion general fund for city hall, and P619.459 million more as special accounts under local enterprises/utilities.

Despite the P200-million reduction, the 2019 budget is still P500 million higher than last year’s city hall budget of P5.8 billion.

“Gi-aprobahan nato kay para sa kaayohan sa tao. Ato kining gisalig sa Local Finance Committee nga mihimo sa proseso para lang fair kayo ang atong budget karong tuiga,” said Vice Mayor Raineir Joaquin Uy who presided over the city council’s session.

Uy said the approved budget is a product of hours of brainstorming sessions and deliberations by local legislators since November. He credited Councilor Dahino who, as chairperson of the city council’s finance and appropriations committee, presided over the budget meetings.

He said the approved budget was based on the P8.18-billion Annual Investment Plan of city hall.

Councilor Gan, a vocal critic of the Moreno administration, said he objected because the P6.3-billion budget would likely add to the tax burdens of people in the city.      

Gan said city hall’s actual collections last year was only P2.9 billion and “so, dako ra kaayo ang P6.3 billion.”

He also accused the PDP-Laban-dominated city council of rushing the approval of the Moreno administration’s proposed budget.

Gan said the P6.3-billion budget did not reflect city hall’s actual revenues.

“Dili makatarunganon ang budget. Ang mahitabo niana, ang budget karon is against the people of Cagayan de Oro tungod kay ang actual collection made wala man maka-abot sa budget karong tuiga,” he said. “Pwede man modugang og budget kung motaas gyud ang collection. Ang budget karon walay insakto nga basehanan.”

Gan said the approved budget is not based on city hall’s actual income but was made to justify a significant increase in the intelligence funds of Moreno.

“They fasttracked the deliberation and approval. They have the numbers,” he said.

Nacaya, for his part, brushed aside Gan’s accusation, saying there was a series of budget hearings in the city council last year.

The budget hearings, according to Nacaya, were open to the public.

“Dili na tino-od. Kon gidali-dali pa, last last year pa unta namo gi-approve. Unya na-a man ang mga sakop sa media sa budget hearings. Ang media man ang maka-testify kon gidali-dali ba ang pag-approve,” Nacaya said.

Moreno, meanwhile, said city hall would not be able to use the approved budget during the first quarter because it cannot be implemented without the approval of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

Until the DBM gives the go-ahead, he said, city hall would have to operate based on a reenacted budget.

“Bisan reenacted budget lang una ang atong gamiton karon, dili pa gihapon kini maka-apikto sa atong pag-serbisyo, kay na-a pa may mga project sa 2018 budget nga wala pa nato ma-fully implement tungod sa kadaghan sa atong mga projects,” Moreno said.