WITH RESTRICTIONS AND REMINDERS

THE DAGUPAN City employees have reason to look forward to better times for the rest of the year.

THE Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) finally passed the proposed P581 million budget of Dagupan for 2012 last March 12, 2012 but with a caveat – several conditions are imposed on the executive branch to prevent possible misuse of the city’s coffers.

The budget approval, without objection from any of the council members, is contained in Ordinance No. 1975-2012 based on a draft proposed by Councilor Jeslito Seen, chairman on finance of the SP.

The ordinance, adopting the budget en toto as submitted by Mayor Benjamin Lim, however, spelled out several conditions to ensure that the budget would be spent for the purposes for which they were intended and not diverted for other purposes or activities.

RESTRICTIONS

Section II of the measure states, “no ordinance providing for a supplemental budget shall be enacted hereafter, except when supported by funds actually available as certified by the City Treasurer or by new revenue sources or in times of calamity pursuant to Sec. 21 of Republic Act 7160 and Art. 417 (as amended by Administrative Order No. 47 dated April 12, 1993) of the Internal Rules ands Regulations of RA 7160.

Section III prohibits “the Local Chief Executive or the Presiding Officer of the SP” from augmenting “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.”

On the other hand, Section IV of the ordinance sets the rule that priority shall be given to the personnel benefits of local employees in the use of Personal Services savings.

DENIED ITEMS

Meanwhile, Section V denied authorization for the details and breakdown of expenditures of the 5% Budgetary Reserve (Calamity fund), citing Sec. 12, (c.<7> of RA 10121. This will cover the budget intended for the Tsunami Hill that was bidded out last January 10, 2012 without the explicit approval of the SP.

In Section VI, the SP also did not authorize details and breakdown of expenditures of the 20% Development Fund “due to the absence of the Comprehensive Development Plan and Local Development Plan,” as required under DILG-NEDA-DBM-DOF Joint Memorandum Circular No. S-2007 dated March 8, 2007.

According to SP Secretary Ryan Ravanzo, the section was prompted by the failure of the city hall to submit pertinent documents for the plan.

Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez, chair of the SP, confirmed that the document submitted by city hall to the SP last March 5 did not include any of the documents required by law and sought by the body.

Earlier, the Commission on Audit (COA) issued on Feb. 10, 2012 an Audit Observation Memorandum addressed to Mayor Lim and City Administrator Vladimir Mata that the P26.5 million spent for development projects from the Internal Revenue Allotment in 2011 had no legal basis as these projects were not approved by the SP.

REMINDERS

Section VII of the ordinance further issued a reminder that the utilization of the appropriations on the list of projects and programs to be implemented is subject to the authorization of the SP as ruled by the Supreme Court in the case of Hon. Gabriel Luis Quisumbing, et al., vs. Hon. Gwendolyn F. Garcia, et.al., G.R.No. 175527, December 8, 2008.

In Section VIII, the SP again reminded the executive branch that “all procurements to be undertaken shall be subject to the pertinent provisions of RA 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act and its revised implementing rules and regulations.”

According to PUNCH sources in the city council, the reminder was prompted by the attempt of the city hall to seek payment of the Daongan ed Dawel project after its completion without any prior bidding.

Lastly, the SP decreed that the budget authorization shall take effect provided that the city government has complied with the guidelines in Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Local Budget Memorandum No. 65 dated June 27, 2011.

Mayor Lim is expected to approve or veto the ordinance on or before March 31, 2012.

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