A CONTINGENCY plan for the operation of the Dagupan City government under a reenacted budget is already being prepared in the event the sanggunian panlungsod decides to permanently shelve the proposed P691 million city budget for 2015.

City Budget Officer Luz de Guzman said on orders of Mayor Belen Fernandez, her office is now preparing the contingency plan because a P628 million reenacted budget will affect the plans prepared by the city government for 2015.

The city government is already operating on a reenacted budget since January 1, 2015 after some members of the city council , including members of the majority, refused to deliberate and vote on the proposed budget until they declared a recess on December 17.

The proposed budget was submitted to the city council as early as October 2.

De Guzman said all plans and projects for the residents welfare are suspended until revisions are completed, while operations are scaled down owing to forced separation of job order employees or emergency workers.

The contingency plan was ordered by Mayor Fernandez who told department heads to prepare and brace for the worst if the members of the sanggunian make good on their threat not to approve the 2015 budget at anytime.

Fernandez had warned that the first to be affected by a reenacted budget are the 650 emergency workers who will be displaced through no fault of their own.

“The workers and their families will be literally thrown out to the streets after performing creditably for the government and the people,” the mayor intoned.

However, Councilor Jeslito Seen, chairman on finance of the SP, expressed hope his colleagues will still approve his committee’s report during their first regular session on January 6.

Vice Mayor Brian Lim reportedly refused to have the budget calendared for floor deliberation during the last session days of 2014.

Seen said his committee and other committees in the SP already conducted and completed the series of budget hearings with department heads.

There is no reason not to approve the budget because it was fully defended by department heads led by City Administrator Farah Decano during the series of hearings that were conducted, Seen said.

The PUNCH earlier reported that a majority of the councilors are refusing to approve the proposed budget until their request for P1.8 million allocation each for their respective projects are included in the budget.

Mayor Fernandez reportedly flatly rejected the proposition since the pork barrel practice has been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, and the Commission and Audit’s policy disallows it. (Leonardo Micua)

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