Dagupan’s annual budget “porkless” since 2014
THE newly approved P691 million budget of Dagupan City for year 2015 contained no item for financial assistance, the local version of the pork barrel or the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) which was declared as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
This was confirmed by City Budget Officer Luz de Guzman who maintained that the 2015 budget has no pork barrel allocation like the 2014 budget, or since Mayor Belen T. Fernandez assumed office.
The only financial assistance provided are for indigents requesting assistance for medicines or to pay for their hospital bills and the like, said De Guzman.
The financial assistance for indigents is provided by the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) as well as the City Assistance Service Team (CAST) only to people in need.
The city auditor has since warned the Fernandez administration about giving dole-outs to civic organizations and non-government organizations which were rampant in the past and recently disallowed by the Commission on Audit.
The civic clubs and NGOs and certain individuals that received financial assistance in the past are now being asked to by COA to liquidate the sum received or to return the fund to the city.
Mayor Fernandez has since complied with COA’s directive and only indigents screened by CSWDO are qualified to receive financial assistance from the city government. (Leonardo Micua)
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