SP MAJORITY PREEMEPTED TO CORRECT MISTAKE

TOO late for planned heroics of the majority members in the Sanggunian Panlungsod (SP) who obviously realized it committed a faux pas when it attempted to amend the Annual Investment Plan (AIP), its accompanying Integral Plans, and the P864-M Annual Budget for 2023 and came forward with a draft a resolution seeking to further amend these.

Using her powers vested upon her under Section 55 of the Local Government Code and Article 415 (b) of its Implementing Rules and Regulations, Mayor Belen Fernandez returned to the Sangguniang Panlungsod without her signature Resolution No. 8009-2023 approving the Annual Investment Program for 2023, when she exercised her veto power over the same.

In her veto message, Fernandez said the changes and amendments in the AIP were not in accord to law and procedure as she also underscored that the AIP is a product of work of the Local Development Council as per LDC Resolution No. 4, S. 2022.

“While the Sangguniang Panlungsod is empowered to approve the said AIP, with all due respect (you) could not amend, modify or revise the same. By provision of law, the formulation and initiation of the City’s development plan is the primary function of the Local Development Council, Sec. 109 (a) in relation to Section 114 (a) of the  Local Government Code,” Fernandez said.

She said the seven councilors’ decision to delete the development fund cancelled projects despite the accurate allocation of 20% of the Annual Tax Allotment for the City of Dagupan and neither did it violate to the directive that no less than 20% of the annual NTA be appropriated for development projects.

The seven councilors deliberately deleted programs, projects, plans and activities necessary for effective delivery of basic services to the city, the mayor said.

Her three-page veto message was sent 4:56 p.m. on April 11.

But on the evening of April 11, the seven councilors in the majority, Councilors Redford Erfe-Mejia, Celia Lim, Librada Reyna-Macalanda, Irene Lim-Acosta, Alfie Fernandez, Alvin Coquia and Marilou Fernandez sought the adoption of Draft Ordinance No. 0-819 entitled “An ordinance rectifying and readdressing specific items in the Calendar Year 2023 Annual Investment Program and Fiscal Year 2023 Local Expenditure Program of the City of Dagupan,” and called for a special session to rectify the “errors allegedly inadvertently committed on the AIP” as well as the annual budget after an extended recess.

Erfe-Mejia, chair of the committee on finance, budget and appropriations, said the proposed ordinance submitted on April 4 was “without prejudice to the correction, ratification, errors in the items, inadvertent entries as well as figures overlooked during the preparation and encoding of the Annual Investment Program and the Annual budget given the volume of document in figures.”

Councilor Alfie Fernandez even claimed that the AIP and annual budget passed by the SP in its session last March 28 “does not reflect the true intention of the majority,” and moved for the adoption of “an ordinance rectifying entries, and in lieu of Resolution approving the AIP of the City of Dagupan and its accompanying Integral Plans for 2023 in the amount of P2.188 billion, from P1.16 billion in the approved amended AIP.”

City Secretary Ryan Ravanzo then informed them that their move to rectify what they did was already preempted by Mayor Fernandez who already vetoed the approved “anti-people” AIP.

Mayor Fernandez announced in her video posted on Facebook on the night of April 11 that she vetoed the ‘anti-people ‘AIP and was already preparing her message to veto the anti-poor annual budget. (Leonardo Micua)

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