P1M for each Talisay councilor

CEBU, Philippines - Talisay City Mayor Johnny delos Reyes yesterday made known his desire to grant P1 million in pork barrel to each of the 12 city councilors, including the representatives of the Association of Barangay Council and the Sangguniang Kabataan Federation.

This means the city government will have to raise P12 million annually, but where it will come is still unclear.

If the Office of the Vice Mayor was not mentioned, it is because the office enjoys separate funding.

Typically, funding for pork barrels comes from the Local Development Fund, which is equivalent to 20 percent of the internal revenue allotment that all LGUs collect from the national government.

But some LGUs wallowing in revenues have sourced pork shares for their councilors from local budgets.

“As a mayor, I pray that we will forget our personal political ambitions and forget the color of politics,” Delos Reyes said during his inaugural address yesterday before the members of the 5th city council.

In a separate interview, opposition Councilors Francis Richard Aznar and Eduardo “Digul” Gullas III welcomed the move of the mayor to give them P1 million.

They said the pork barrel will be used to deliver more projects to constituents. (FREEMAN)