Egay Uy THE department heads of the city’s executive department attended a meeting last Nov. 3, as called by the City Council Committee of the Whole.  By resolution of the city council, the Sanggunian itself was constituted as the Committee of the Whole to deliberate the City Executive Budget for 2016. The meeting was supposed to be a briefing on how the budget will be taken up, and what the city council will require from the departments to support their respective proposed expenditures next year. Resolution no. 12175-2105 designated the city’s finance committee as the lead committee, and it gave its chairman full authority to prepare the schedule of marathon hearings. Contrary to adverse public pronouncements made by the chair of the finance committee, it appears that there is an attempt to support the executive budget.  Well, it appears. There was a suggestion from the chair that the departments approach the committees of the city council so the latter could support the proposed executive budgets.  Well, it was just that, a suggestion.  No commitments. The basis of the requirement that departments should submit to the city council their respective statements of expenditures from January to September 2015 was raised by Teddy Sabugaa, CSWD officer, but this was not categorically clarified. Well, we can only hope that this would be the time for real reconciliation. Forget about the coming elections. Forget about the turncoats. Forget about the treason of sorts. Just remember what good a reasonable budget will bring to the people of Cagayan de Oro. And we could then hope that the body that will deliberate the City Executive Budget for 2016 is the City Council Committee of the Whole, not the Committee of the Hole. And it will become one when come voting time, those raised hands will be in support of only one agendum mandated by their master. (Egay Uy is a lawyer, city hall consultant, and chairman of Task Force Hapsay Dalan.)