IRREGULARITIES NOTED

IT seems the path to matuwid na daan in Dagupan City remains an obstacle course.

This became evident after the majority members of the city’s Sangguniang Panlungsod is again poised to approve a P47 million supplemental budget submitted last week granting the Lim administration’s request notwithstanding serious questions raised about its legality and form.

The anticipated passage of the submitted supplemental budget prompted Councilor Maybelyn Fernandez to seek a special audit on the books of the city citing the irregularity of approving of the budget even before the first quarter of 2013 is over.

She called on Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez, chair of the city council, to order the secretary, Ryan Ravanzo to ask the Commission on Audit (COA) main office to send auditors to Dagupan to look into the books of the city to determine its current financial standing in view of the reported P40 million collection shortfall.

In her privilege speech last Monday, the councilor, a member of the minority, also decried the entry in the trial balance purporting to show that the city registered a surplus of P1 million last year considering the big collection shortfall.
She recalled that the city council approved last year the 2013 budget of P581 million based on the executive’s claim that it would be able to collect sufficient income to cover it.

However, the city’s income reached only P541 million last year.

On the supplemental budget of P47 million proposed by the executive department, Fernandez and fellow minority Councilor Jeslito Seen questioned the proposal to revert the first quarter’s expected P7.5 million personnel service savings of the city when the first quarter has not ended.

MC ADORE INCOME

Based on Draft Ordinance No. 0-477, proposed by Councilor Jesus Canto, chairman on finance, P39.8 million of the total supplemental budget will be drawn against the proceeds from the sale of MC Adore Hotel last month.

Both Fernandez and Seen protested the use of funds from the sale of MC Adore since the special civil case filed before the Regional Trial Court on the resolution that authorized the sale of the property has not yet been resolved in court.
“Bigyan naman natin ng respeto ang korte dahil hindi pa natatapos ang kaso,” said Seen.

Canto acknowledged during his committee hearing on Tuesday, that the case questioning the resolution authorizing the sale of MC Adore remains pending in court.

This was corroborated by the petitioner himself, Ravanzo, who stressed that the case is still on and that his lawyer will soon ask the court to decide on the case.

On the other hand, Acting City Legal Officer Roy Laforteza opined that the sale of the MC Adore property and the use of the proceeds has legal basis since it was not covered by any injunction from the court.

In questioning the proposed supplemental budget, Fernandez cited COA Circular 2001-005 dated Oct. 30, 2001 which states that expenditures and obligations incurred during the fiscal year shall be taken from the account of that year. “Ang mga gastos at obligasyon ng siyudad noong 2012 ay maari lang i-charge sa budget ng taong 2012 at ang gastos at obligasyon ng siyudad sa 2013 ay maari lang i-charge sa budget ng taong 2013,” Fernandez explained.

Fernandez slammed the projects supposed to be funded by the proposed supplemental budget which she said were stated only “in their generic names” and not the specific or line items provided for in COA Circular 2010-014.
She asked, “What happened to the 2013 budget which we just approved?”

Fernandez noted that the proposed supplemental budget seeks to fund the same items amply funded in the 2013 budget.

Meanwhile, Seen also argued that a COA-Department of Budget and Management circular prohibits the setting of a supplemental budget stating only the projected amount to be reverted and not the exact amount.

While Seen’s position was affirmed by the city finance committee hearing conducted the following day, the members conceded that the budget as submitted is not allowed by COA but defended the procedure it having been a regular practice in the city.

The local finance committee was represented by City Treasurer Romelita Alcantara and May Estrada, representing the budget officer.

In that hearing, Alcantara admitted that the city indeed incurred a collection shortfall of P40 million last year reporting only P541 million as revenue earned.

But she defended the P1 million surplus reflected in the trial balance which, she said, was the result of belt-tightening measures adopted from September or October.

ELECTRIC BILL

Fernandez also asked what happened to the P27 million that was supposed to pay for the electric consumption of the city, noting that the executive is asking for an additional P1.6 million for its power bills.

Councilor Redford Erfe Mejia pointed out that the huge electric consumption was in December when the city held its annual fiesta.

Erfe Mejia, chairman of last year’s fiesta celebration, however, has refused to report on the revenues earned by the fiesta to date.

Meanwhile, per Draft Ordinance No. 0-477, the P47 million supplemental budget will fund the following:
l. Cost of additional outlay for the increase in Representation and Transportation Allowances of all government officials and employees, P1.6; additional outlay for Personal Services under the Terminal Leave Benefits of the City Health Office, P40,000; of City Social Welfare and Development Office, P61,000; City Engineer’s Office-administrative division, P117,305; Cost of additional outlay for Personal Service under the Overtime and Night Pay of the City Mayor’s Office, P1,000,000; and of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, P250,000;

Cost of additional outlay for City Treasurer’s Office-Market Division: Terminal Leave Pay, P511,041; electricity expenses, P1,000,000; and cost of additional outlay for the following programs, projects and activities under the Non-Office Account, P42,400,000, itemized as follows:
Electricity expenses, P6,000,000; Social Services Program, P8,000,000; Development Management of the City, P10,000,000; Youth and Sports Development Program, P5,000,000; Barangay Socio-Economic Development Program, P4,650,000; Tourism Program, P2,2; Ecological, Environmental & Sanitation Services, P3,000,000; Engineering Services Program, P3,000,000; and Financial Aid to NGAs (Comele3c training ), P500,000.

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