Toledo council has a month to decide

CEBU, Philippines - The Toledo City Council has until March 31 to act on the 2014 annual budget, otherwise, the city shall operate under a reenacted budget for the whole year.

City Mayor John Henry Osmeña has proposed a P538 million budget for this year now pending before the committee on budget and appropriations chaired by Councilor Helen Jill Espinosa of the opposition bloc.

"I still have 30 days to wait," Osmeña said.

Vice Mayor Antonio Yapha told The FREEMAN that no committee report has been submitted yet when he called for a special session last Friday, purposely to tackle the proposed budget.

It is provided in Section 323 of the Local Government Code of 1991 that if councils still fail to enact the budget ordinance after 90 days from the beginning of the fiscal year, the ordinance authorizing the appropriations of the preceding year shall be deemed reenacted and shall remain in force and effect until the ordinance authorizing the proposed appropriations is passed by the councils concerned.

However, only the annual appropriations for salaries and wages of existing positions, statutory and contractual obligations, and essential operating expenses authorized in the annual and supplemental budgets for the preceding year shall be deemed reenacted.

The 20 percent Development Fund being a mandated budgetary requirement under Section 287 of the Code, the same is considered as statutory obligation hence deemed reenacted pursuant to the aforecited provision of law and the DILG Legal Opinion No. 55 series of 2002, dated April 01, 2002.

Osmeña said that there are conditions set by the councilors in exchange of the passage of the annual budget though he did not elaborate further.

"Ang ila kalaki dilatory gyud, no assurance they will pass the budget," he said.

Aside from the amount for the proposed annual budget, there is also a separate appropriation of P400 million under the city's Annual Investment Plan; P200 million representing the P20 percent Development Plan and P120 million for the disaster risk reduction and management fund.

Osmeña has feared that his social reform programs considered to be the most important project would be affected with the delay in the passing of the annual budget.

These include the provision of basic subsidy for potable domestic water for 12,000 consumers in Toledo City and the grant of P1,000 a year each of the 12,000 senior citizens.

Yapha reminded his colleagues in the Toledo City Council of their obligations to the people who elected them into office.

He is hoping that the annual budget would be discussed during its regular session today.  (FREEMAN)