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By NITZ ARANCON
and SHIELA MAE BUTLIG
Correspondents

THE Moreno administration would appeal regional Judge Jeoffre Acebido’s decision to dismiss its case against the city council majority in connection with this year’s city hall budget, ex-councilor and lawyer Edgar Cabanlas said yesterday.

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Cabanlas said this after Judge Acebido dismissed Civil Case no. 2015-AF-029 that was filed by Councilor Roger Abaday and other members of the city council minority against members of the Padayon Pilipino in the local legislature.

Since 2014, the city council voted to significantly slash Mayor Oscar Moreno’s proposed annual budgets. For this year, the legislature approved P2.08 billion, a far cry from Moreno’s P3.8-billion proposed budget.

Cabanlas said he would file on behalf of Moreno a motion  for  reconsideration, and point out that the case was not really about the slashing of the proposed P3.8-billion budget to P2.08 billion but on the legality of the city council majority’s act of “encroaching” on the local executive’s territory.

“Ang issue dinhi kon legal ba o dili  kadtong action nga gihimo sa city council sa ilang pag-tadtad sa budget proposal sa mayor,” he said. “They exercised and arrogantly used power that was not theirs but which only belongs to the local chief executive.”

Cabanlas also said another question is on the “condition” attached to the assailed 2015 appropriations ordinance. He said the condition was for Moreno to ask the city council permission before he implement programs and projects.

“Dili man nahimo nga imong butangan ug condition… supak kana sa bala-od,” argued Cabanlas, asserting that only the executive department can determine annual budgets.

Meanwhile, Councilor Enrico Salcedo said Judge Acebido’s decision to dismiss the civil case in favor of the city council majority only showed that the local legislator was not irrelevant, contrary to Moreno’s pronouncements.

Girespitoan nako ang decisyon sa korte. It only defines the authority of the city council to approve the budget… Nagpaila lang ni nga dili irrelevant ang city council, nga ang mag prepare sa budget ang ehekotibo ug i-approve sa legislatibo,” said Salcedo.

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