NO SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET FOR SCHOLARS

THE clamor of some 100 students and parents that staged a rally outside the Sangguniang Panlungsod session hall on Tuesday (December 6) to pass and approve the Supplemental Budget No. 1 that would alleviate their financial crisis threatening to end their education, were flatly ignored by the seven majority member-councilors of Dagupan.

The Supplemental Budget No. 1 (and the Supplemental Annual Investment Program for  2022) remain pending in the committee of budget, finance and appropriations committee headed by Councilor Red Erfe-Mejia, whose members all belong to the majority bloc.

Marietta Barrientos, representing the parents, pleaded and asked the members of the majority of the SP to explain why the Supplemental Budget No. 1 that allocates additional P100 million funding for the city’s scholarship program, has not been passed after five committee hearings.

One scholar pleaded their cause, “Sana aprobahan ninyo ang budget, kasi kawawa na ang aming mga magulang”. Another student tearfully told the SP majority: “Nasa Inyo pong kamay ang susi para magpatuloy kami sa aming pag-aaral.”

The scholars and their parents carried seven black balloons representing their protests against the seven councilors that continue to block passage of the two proposed supplemental budgets.

Responding to the rallyists, Councilor Alfie Fernandez, one of the seven majority members,  said the 2022 approved budget still has an unspent balance of P55 million, adding that “ Mayor Belen Fernandez can release this amount even tomorrow if she wants,” citing the resolution urging Mayor Fernandez to immediately release the P55 million balance in the scholarship fund to cover the benefits due all existing qualified scholars.

The rallying parents, however, knew that the P55 million the councilor referred to will only cover the set of scholars selected by the Lim administration, not their children that were recently qualified.

To refute the impression of the students and parents that the majority bloc is not concerned about their education, Councilor Redford Erfe-Mejia again grandstanded and reiterated his call in the past that he is willing to sponsor one scholar till he or she graduates and challenged Councilor Michael Fernandez, the minority floor leader, to do the same.

Councilor Fernandez countered that the issue is about the city ordinance granting benefits to qualified scholars, and not about scholarship for two students, pointing out that the approved scholarship ordinance for 2022 provides P200 million for the current scholarship  program, not P55 million. “This fund does not belong to Councilor Erfe-Mejia,” he intoned.

Through zoom, Councilor Marcelino Fernandez argued that Erfe-Mejia’s proposition, sponsoring individual scholarships by councilors does not address the problem of the parents. He said the needed P100 million supplemental budget will cover the scholarship fund depleted by the Lim administration, for all scholars.

For her part, Councilor Celia Lim told the rallyists and the minority bloc to give the majority more time to review the proposed supplemental budget as well as the supplemental AIP as she recalled that the past Sanggunian, it took nine months before it passed the 2022 annual city budget.

Councilor Michael Fernandez, majority floor leader of the past Sanggunian and author of the 2022 scholarship ordinance, countered saying the long delay in the passage of the 2022 annual city budget was caused by the failure and refusal of the Lim administration to submit the devolution, transition plan required by the DILG for nine months.

Meanwhile, action on the two budget measures will continue to languish in the Erfe-Mejia committee as a sixth committee hearing is still scheduled. (Leonardo Micua)

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments