AFTER THREE-WEEK DELAY

DAGUPAN’S Sanggunian Panlungsod (SP) finally passed the city’s P768 million annual budget during its regular session last January 12, ending the month-long standoff between the legislative and executive branches.

The approved budget is only 11% higher than the P691 million budget in 2015.

After four city councilors argued their respective concerns in separate privilege speeches and after answering these concerns, Councilor Jeslito Seen, the council’s chairman on finance, moved for the passage of the budget that was seconded by all his colleagues present.

In their privilege speeches, however, Councilors Alfie Fernandez, Redford Erfe Mejia, Alvin Coquia and Marvin Fabia clarified they were not objecting to the passage of the budget but needed clarification simply on some issues from the chairman on finance, and members of the local finance committee.

But Seen said all these could have been ironed out had the other councilors, except for Mejia, attended the marathon hearings conducted for three successive days in November attended by department heads who defended their respective budgets.

The P768 million budget, according to the ordinance, represents the estimated income for Budget year 2016, and which was certified to by the Local Finance Committee as “reasonable collectible income.”

The local finance committee is composed of the city administrator, city budget officer, city treasurer and city accountant.

The annual budget provided for in approved Ordinance No. 2054-2016 appropriated P242,840.05 for personal services; P338,446,831.95 for maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE), P155,882,850.00 for capital outlay; and P30,830,000.00 for financial expenses.

All these will be funded by local and external sources. The local sources include P286,500,000; and non-tax revenue, P69,133,000 while the external sources include P411,151,465,00 share of the city from the National Tax Collection (or Internal Revenue Allotment); and P1,193,535 share of the city from Government-owned and Controlled Corporations (GOIC) or the Philippine Games and Amusement Corporation (Pagcor) and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSI).

Incorporated in the approved budget and made an integral part of the approved ordinance were: Budget Expenditures and Sources of Financing, Annual Investment program, Personnel schedule by department/office/unit; City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan and Gender Development.

The ordinance incorporated the provision: “The Local Chief Executive or the presiding Officer of the Sangguniang Panlungsod shall not augment any item in the approved annual budget for their respective offices from savings in other items within the same expense class of their respective appropriations unless authorized by an ordinance pursuant to Sec. 336 of RA 7160 and Art. 454 of the IRR of RA 7160. (Leonardo Micua)

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