Bu NITZ ARANCON
with SHIELA MAE BUTLIG
Correspondents
CITY hall has flunked the test of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and failed to bag the much coveted “Seal of Good Local Governance” over its failure to account for funds since 2006 and the poor state of the city dump in Barangay Carmen.
Dionne Gersana, assistant city administrator, yesterday confirmed that the city government failed to pass the DILG’s test on good financial housekeeping and environmental management, and would not receive the Department’s “seal” based on DILG Memorandum Circular no. 2014-39.
The DILG evaluated city hall’s performance in 2014, and the local government was found to have complied with four of the six criteria for the “seal.” City hall passed the DILG requirements on disaster preparedness, social protection, business friendliness and competitiveness, and peace and order but failed in the good financial housekeeping and environmental management components.
Gersana said city hall has been found by the Commission on Audit (COA) to be unable to answer for the discrepancies in its financial records during the previous years, and this failure had a domino effect.
“There was a disclaimer which COA issued against city hall in 2014 because financial records during the previous administration could not be reconciled due to unliquidated cash advances,” Gersana said.
He did not cite figures but city accountant Beda Joy Elot told the city council last month that nearly P862 million in city hall funds, presumably spent from 2006 to 2013 mostly during the administration of the then mayor Vicente Emano, have remained unaccounted for to this day. She said the “negative cash balances” as of June 30, 2013 amounted to P13,503,306.92.
Gersano said discrepancies impacted on city hall’s financial records especially in 2014.
Another reason why city hall flunked the DILG test was city hall’s failure to provide a new sanitary landfill despite proddings from the Environment Management Bureau (EMB).
The EMB has repeatedly been warning city hall for years about the need to close down the city dump in Upper Carmen because of the dangers its poses on the environment and public health, and about the need to provide a new one.
Gersana said the DILG checked the city dump, and concluded that the city’s waste disposal system was mismanaged due to the local government’s failure to follow the EMB’s recommendations.
He said EMB regional director Sabdullah Abubacar wrote city hall as early as June 2, 2010 to call its attention about the need to close down the city dump because it has already exceeded its capacity. The EMB called the present sanitary landfill as an “environmental hazard.”
The local executive department has repeatedly asked the city council to increase city hall’s budget in order to improve the city’s waste disposal system and so it could close down the city dump and open a new one.
Because of city hall’s failure to bag the DILG seal, its employees would not be entitled to productivity enhancement incentives equivalent to a one-month salary or P5 thousand each.
Had it bagged the seal, city hall would have been granted a P1-million financial aid by the national government that could have been used for the construction of a farm-to-market road, irrigation and electrification projects, among others.
No Request But at the city council, legislators called on Mayor Oscar Moreno to submit a request for an authority to give the local government’s workers productivity enhancement incentives.
Councilor President Elipe, chairman of the city council’s finance committee, said the legislature has yet to receive a request from Moreno. “There is no request for the productivity enhancement incentive for the city hall employees.”
Councilor Alexander Dacer said city hall employees were entitled to received these incentives based on an executive order signed by President Aquino. But he said the condition is for local governments to receive the DILG seal.
Dacer said city hall could still give each regular employee P5 thousand.
“We are waiting for their request. We will give that. Why not?” he said.
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