Finally, City Hall to submit 4th version of IAPP
FOR PASSAGE OF 2022 BUDGET
THE finance committee of the Dagupan City government decided to work overtime with the Bids and Awards committee to rush a more detailed and specific Indicative Annual Procurement Plan required by the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) to comply with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) memorandum.
This after the finance committee were confronted by the majority members with the details of the DBM memorandum that led to the rejection of three submissions by the city’s finance committee.
The last submission on December 31, 2021, 15 minutes before the close of office hour in 2021 was the Annual Procurement Plan Common Use Expenditures prepared by the General Service Office (GSO) and not the BAC, that should have been submitted to DBM and not to the SP, a lapse in the procedure questioned by Councilor Jose Netu Tamayo.
After a long debate with Councilor and Majority Floor Leader Michael Fernandez, City Budget Officer Jessa Rayupa eventually agreed to submit the document required by the SP adding that preparation of the same would be long and tedious.
The majority was adamant that the Indicative Annual Procurement Plan, one of the many attachments to the Annual Investment Plan (AIP), must be complied with before the SP can even begin to deliberate the 2022 annual city budget.
Members of the majority, Councilors Jose Netu Tamayo, Luis Samson Jr. and Karlos Reyna, (led by Fernandez), bewailed why they were being blamed by the minority for the delay in the passage of the 2022 annual city budget when it was the office of the city executive that failed to complete the documents needed by the SP before it can deliberate on the budget.
At one point in her argument with Councilor Fernandez, City Budget Officer Rayupa claimed that the Indicative Annual Procurement Plan is not material to the passage of the budget but when asked by Fernandez to show basis of her claim, she could not cite any.
When Rayupa cited instances in the past when SP passed budgets without the AIP in 2019, 2020 and 2021, Fernandez pointed out that DBM Memorandum Circular 82, amended by Memo Circular 82-A, used the word “shall”, making it mandatory.
Finally, Rayupa conceded:: “I did not say it’s not a requirement but kung talagang nire-require yan ng SP concerned, gagawin namin”.
Hearing that, Councilor Samson reacted: “Gagawin din ninyo pala, Nagpapalusot pa kayo!” and manifested that the SP will await the submission. Councilor Karlos Reyna concurred.
Councilor Tamayo said it was evident that the BAC has not done its work given the statement from City Accountant Rosario Catugas, a former member of the BAC secretariat, that the preparation of itemized IAPP is ongoing in the BAC, as he reminded the finance committee that the deadline for the submission was August 31, 2021. (Leonardo Micua)
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