A FRUSTRATED Councilor Celia Lim challenged anew her colleagues in the Sangguniang Panlungsod to finally vote on the 2022 annual city budget so the Dagupan City council can proceed to discuss other pressing issues and not waste each other’s time, particularly of the invited resource speakers.

But her call failed to move members the ruling majority in the city council.

In her privilege speech during the regular session of the SP on February 15, Lim said: “Sincerely, we should now vote on this day whether we pass or not the annual budget so that we can now discuss other ordinances and resolutions that have nothing to do with the budget.”

It was Mayor Brian Lim’s mother’s second privilege speech, in less than a month on the same subject. “We are just wasting our time, including our resource speakers,” she said.

She cited the invitation to representatives of the City Health Office who were asked questions not related to the annual budget proposal.

Lim said Section 323 of the Local Government Code states that “in case the Sanggunian concerned fails to pass the ordinance authorising the annual appropriation at the beginning of the ensuing fiscal year, it should continue to hold sessions without additional remuneration for its members until such ordinance is approved and no other business may be taken up during such sessions.”

She reminded her colleagues that Section  323 requires that the SP agenda should only contain the proposed ordinance approving the 2022 annual budget and that the inclusion of other matters in the agenda during the session should be automatically called “out of order” by the presiding officer.

“Please let us not waste each other’s time, why not vote on the annual budget now so that we can move on,” Lim concluded. She refused to be interrelated by her colleagues.

Councilor Luis Samson Jr. disputed Lim’s claim and said department heads are invited as resource persons to defend their respective budgets that they had prepared themselves, adding that is it the practice and process in approving the annual budget.

Councilor Michael Fernandez said the city council is tasked to study and harmonize related plans, development plans and investments plans for the general welfare of the people.

The SP held a special session on February 17 to continue the discussion of the budgets of other departments of the city government. (Leonardo Micua)

 

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