THE head of the city’s budget office expressed serious doubts that the planned reorganization of the city government can be implemented this year.

City Budget Officer Ildelfonso Calimlim told the PUNCH that to date, the city has only P50 million left in the city coffer allocated for other purposes and not for reorganization.

The P50 million, programmed for the City’s Development Fund to finance  planned projects of the city this year, is apparently all that is left to date out of the P357 million budget approved by the city council with still five months more to go before the year ends.

Calimlim said that even assuming that the P50 million cash on hand can be spent for the reorganization, it’s not enough to cover the costs of retirement estimated at P120 million.

Calimlim said the estimate was provided by the mayor’s executive assistant Ely Bamba, chair of the committee on restructuring.

He said he already forwarded the Allotment Investment Plan (AIP) to be financed by the development fund to the Department of Budget and Management for review.

“Hindi pa nga sigurado yun kasi, hindi pa inaaprubahan ng Department of Budget and Management. Kasi, ang alam ko, hindi pwedeng gamitin yung development fund para sa personal services,” a worried Calimlim admitted to The PUNCH.

Calimlim said one of the recommendations to raise the needed money for reorganization is to sell properties owned by the city i.e., the Mc Adore, the housing subdivision in Calasiao, and the supposed site of the city’s sanitary landfill in Barangay Awai in San Jacinto.

The Mc Adore hotel, located on  Galvan street here, is now being amortized by the city yearly with the Assets Privatization Trust and the city only needs to pay P10 million  to fully own the MC Adore building, Calimlim said.

It will be recalled that both the sale of the first floor of MC Adore to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation and the Social Security System was part of the plan to convert it into a high rise city hall.

Calimlim also expressed his opposition to the proposed new staffing pattern at city hall, stressing    that this could paralyze the operations of the city once implemented.- AQL

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