By NITZ ARANCON Correspondent MAYOR Oscar Moreno appealed to the city council over the weekend to speed up deliberations on his proposed P87-million supplemental budget that was deferred by the local legislature following Councilor Leon Gan’s objection. In a letter addressed to Vice Mayor Raineir Joaquin Uy, Moreno explained what he said proposed Supplemental Budget No. 1 is needed to fund infrastructure projects and other basic services that have been in the pipeline for some time. “Apil na niana nga budget ang atong plano nga mag-construct sa three-story rebahilitation building sa Lumbia City Jail,” Moreno said. He said he understands that the city council holds the “power of the purse” and respects its independence. When the city council deferred the approval of the proposed supplemental budget, Moreno said, it showed that the legislative body is not a “rubber stamp.” Last week, Councilor Gan objeced to the approval of the proposal, citing a pending review of city hall’s 2017 budget by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). Gan told the city council he raised the objection “kay wala pa man ’ta masayod kon okay ba o dili ang atong total budget for 2017 sa city government kay under review pa karon sa DBM ang maong budget.” A precursor search at DBM’s website (http://www.dbm.gov.ph/?page_id=18903) corroborates Gan’s objection. The department has yet to release its review on the city’s 2017 budget. Councilor Teodulfo Lao Jr. said the city council based its decision to defer the approval of Moreno’s proposed supplemental budget because of Gan’s objection. Lao explained that the supporting documents that the executive department submitted to the city council showed there are still continuing appropriations from the 20 percent development fund of 2014 that have not been spent. The amount is roughly P15 million. “In other words, gi-specify unta nia nga  items kay dawbi kon gabalik-balik lang bitaw ni siya. Mao nang gusto natong mahibaw-an,” said Lao, adding the 20 percent left in the 2014. Moreno said the city council is only being cautious when it decided to defer the approval of proposal. “Naa tingali ilang gusto maklaro. OK lang,” Moreno said.