By LITO RULONA
Correspondent
MAYOR Oscar Moreno and councilors have expressed their distrust of each other amid the impasse on the talks on the nearly P5-billion city hall budget being sought by the local chief executive for this year.
This came even as Councilor Zaldy Ocon, Moreno’s lone political ally in the city council, called the local legislature “barbaric” while Councilor Leon Gan defended the position of the city council majority on the mayor’s proposed P4.8-billion annual budget.
The city council has required city hall’s department heads to submit documents, detailing how their respective departments spent their 2015 budgets, and how they intend to use the funds being sought by Moreno this year.
The legislature earlier passed Resolution no. 02-2015, to reiterate “the request to all departments/ offices/ executive committees and special bodies of the City Government of Cagayan de Oro for the submission of enumerated documents… during the conduct of (the) marathon budget hearing…”
In a two-page letter sent by Moreno to the city council and its finance committee, Moreno bluntly stated: “While you manifested that you are requiring this detail of expenses because you do not trust this administration, may I also tell you that I also do not trust what you will do to the data that we are required to submit. Time and again, we have proven that your real intent is to malevolently use this data against us to malign this administration.”
Moreno threatened to press criminal and administrative charges against the city’s lawmakers before the Office of the Ombudsman if they failed to pass a budget for city hall or for unreasonable delay.
“Please be reminded that failure or unreasonable delay to act on the matters at your hand may force us also to file appropriate cases [before] the Ombudsman,” read part of Moreno’s letter.
Moreno also asked the city council to coursed all its communications and requests through him being the mayor. “Department heads report to me, and going directly to them is beyond your responsibility.”
On Monday, Councilor Ocon lambasted the city council over its alleged deliberate attempt to delay the approval of proposed budget, and for allegedly making it difficult for the Moreno administration. He called members of the city council majority “barbaric,”and questioned why they have been demanding all sorts of data.
“Dili lang nato buangon ang tawo sa Cagayan de Oro,” said Ocon. “Kini nga council, barbaric ni.”
He pointed out that the local executive department was never asked to submit detailed documents during the Jaraula and Emano administrations. “Did any member of the city council bother to ask any of these documents during that time? Karon lang kini nahitabo.”
Councilor Gan, for his part, said there was nothing wrong with the move of the city council in requiring documents from city hall’s executive departments and offices. He said the documents would serve as bases for the discussions.
Gan said almost all of the city hall department heads wre uncooperative and refused to discuss how they used their respective budgets in 2015.
“It is normal and procedural for members of the city council to ask for supporting documents so we would know if the people’s money were spent for the rightful purpose,” Gan said.
City hall’s operates based on the P2.08-billion budget approved by the city council for 2015. Last year’s budget was P1 billion lesser than what Moreno had proposed.
Moreno has invoked Section 316 and 320 of the RA 7160 that provides that the local finance committee and the local chief executive–and not the city council–are tasked to conduct a semi-annual review and general examination of cost and accomplishments against performance standards applied in the implementation of development projects and delivery of basic services.
He stated in his letter that the evaluation results “will serve as bases for reevaluating current policies and practices to gauge the accomplishment or failure of deliverable services, and not the detailed breakdown and explanation of items and expenses required by you (city council members).”
Moreno said the proposed 2016 budget was “already itemized by office/department/non-office and by program/project/activity and by expense code, thus it is inexcusable, unnecessary and obviously, it manifests the real agenda for ‘fishing’ expedition and/or to obstruct development efforts for the city.”
He accused the city council of usurpation of authority of the Commission on Audit (COA), adding that what the city council was doing was already beyond its powers.
“Take note that the vouchers and other supporting documents were already submitted to the COA as a standard procedure,” stated Moreno.
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