THE Sanguniang Panglungsod (SP) has assured the approval for the requested P250,000 supplemental budget for each of Dagupan’s 31 barangays.

Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez, chair of the SP, said the council will approve the request as soon as the Mayor’s Office sends to the council a letter requesting for a supplemental budget for the purpose, with the certification from the City Treasurer’s Office that fund is available.

The request for the supplemental budget, put forward by the Liga ng mga Barangay, asks the SP to appropriate P7.7M for the barangays to fund costs for the coming “Gilon-gilon ed Dalan” street dancing competition and for the clearing of drainage systems and fogging operations.

The proposed resolution, presented by Liga ng mga Barangay President Guillermo Vallejos last April 11, allots P150,000 for the procurement of musical drums and for snacks of the participants during the  competition which is held as part of the annual Bangus Festival.

The remaining P100,000 will be used by each barangay for clearing drainage canals and  fumigating their villages to prepare for the rainy season.

Fernandez stressed that while the SP understands the urgency of the request, the council cannot simply approve an ordinance without any assurance that funds are available.

FROM SAVINGS

Initially, City Administrator Vladimir Mata conveyed the administration’s plan to use the savings from Personal Services for the first quarter of 2011 to fund the request of the barangays.

The amount, Mata said, will come from savings realized from unfilled positions from January 1 to March 31 this year.

However, Councilor Luis Samson Jr., cited Section XII of Ordinance No. 1963-2011 which says that present local employees are to be given priority in benefitting from savings from personnel service funds.

The vice mayor added that the annual savings of local governments could be used only upon an executive order issued by the President, to fund year-end bonuses, apart from the 13th month pay and Christmas gifts of local government employees.

But to facilitate action on the barangays’ request, the vice mayor has asked City Treasurer Romelita Alcantara to appear before the SP and attest to the availability of funds and identify the source to fund the request.—LM

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