Dagupan SP finally OKs supplemental budget
AFTER WEEKS OF DELAY
THE local government of Dagupan no longer has to worry about a possible disconnection of electric service and a delay in the payment of the salaries of some 400 emergency workers (EWs) and consultants after the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) finally approved the P15.9 million supplemental budget proposed by Mayor Belen Fernandez.
The approval — with a vote of seven affirmative, one against and one abstention — of the measure presented by Councilor Jeslito Seen, chairman of finance, was made during a special session on November 22 , four days after it was deferred during the council’s regular session last Nov. 18.
Only opposition Councilor Redford Erfe-Mejia objected to the measure during the special session presided by Councilor Karlos Reyna, presiding pro tempore, in lieu of Vice Mayor Brian Lim who was on a private trip to Singapore.
Councilor Guillermo Vallejos suddenly left the session hall when the voting was made and his absence was considered as an abstention vote .
Those who favored the measure were Councilors Reyna, Seen, Alfie Fernandez, Marvin Fabia, Jake Reyes, all members of the majority; and Jesus Canto and Alvin Coquia, members of the minority.
Two members of the majority were absent, Maybelyn Fernandez who was on official business and Councilor Jose Netu Tamayo, who is on leave and is reportedly in Hongkong.
At least P7.8 million of the supplemental budget is allotted to pay for the outstanding electric bills of the city for July-August and P6.1 million for the wages of some 400 EWs and technical consultants of the city for September and October.
The rest of the outlay will be used to defray additional gasoline expenses, additional maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) in the office of the city mayor and financial assistance for indigents.
Prior to the special session, Mayor Belen Fernandez confirmed that the Dagupan Electric Corporation (Decorp) already sent a disconnection notice to the city government on Nov. 14, over unpaid electric bills from July to September worth P11.1 million.
Disconnection will be undertaken 10 days after the date of the disconnection notice.
NOT OVER
City hall heaved a sigh of relief with the approval of the supplemental budget but its financial woes are not over as it struggles to find funding source for the remaining electric bills of Decorp from September to November.
Meanwhile, the outlay for wages of EWs and consultants was sourced from savings on personnel services for the second quarter of the year due to unfilled positions in the city government numbering more than 100 and those for electricity came from slashed MOEE from different offices.
In attempting to block the measure, Erfe-Mejia raised a point of order after Seen moved for the adoption of the measure, arguing that approval of the supplemental budget would need a two-third vote of all the members of the body per Section 51 of the Internal House Rules of the SP.
Reyna referred this to the chairman of the Committee on House Rules, but since Fernandez was on official business, Seen, also the vice chairman of the rules committee submitted that Section 51 that Erfe-Mejia invoked is silent on the matter and, in view of the defect in the House Rules, the provision in the Local Government Code on matters of appropriation ordinances in local legislative bodies mandates that a majority vote of all the members (seven in the case of Dagupan), must prevail.
Erfe-Mejia again raised an objection because the supplemental budget provided only the wages of five EWs in the office of the vice mayor, adding that the councilors too have their own EWs.
He said there are 38 emergency workers and 16 technical consultants in the Sangguniang Panlungsod who also need to be paid starting July.
Seen said the budget office does not have the information volunteered and attributed it to the failure of Vice Mayor Lim to inform the budget office about the contracts if only to determine if there are funds for the salaries for the number of EWs and consultants of the vice mayor and the councilors in the minorty.
It was learned that the contracts for the vice mayor’s EW s and consultants were only furnished the Human Resources Offices, but not the Budget Office.
Seen also expressed doubt whether the vice mayor can sign the work contracts, which is a function solely of the city mayor.
In a press release from city hall, Mayor Fernandez was quoted saying that “The city does not hire emergency workers more than what our city’s income can afford.”—with report from CIO
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