Cebu provincial board approves P250-M megadome project

CEBU CITY — Four times, those against a planned construction of a megadome tried to derail approval of a P600-million supplemental budget containing a P250-million appropriation for the project and four times they were out-voted.

In the end, the provincial board, by a vote of 8-5, and after more than two hours of intense wrangling, approved the proposed P599,601,832.47 supplemental budget, and with it the money for the megadome, in a special session called by Gov. Pablo Garcia specifically for the purpose last Thursday.

Those who voted to approve the supplemental budget without revisions were board members Julian Daan, Antonio Almirante, Josefina Asirit, Rosemarie Durano, Victor Maambong, Manuel Masangkay, Ramon Martin Calderon and Teresita Celis.

Those who sought disapproval were Orvi Ortega, Gregorio Sanchez, Joven Mondigo, Jose Marie Gastardo and Michael Miranda, ironically all allied with Garcia in the Lakas party.

Two members, Estrella Yapha and Raul Bacaltos, were absent. Both were expected to have also voted against the supplemental budget but even if they had, opponents of the project would still have been a vote short of at least forging a tie.

Had a tie ensued, the megadome would still have scraped through as Vice Gov. John Gregory Osmeña, the board’s presiding officer, would have broken the tie in favor of the project, being one of its staunch proponents.

Mondigo, who did not like appropriating a huge sum of money for a project that did not undergo a feasibility study, was joined by Ortega in moving to defer approval of the megadome outlay and referring the project instead to the provincial engineering office first for study.

Mondigo said provincial engineers should enlighten the board first as to how the megadome budget was arrived at.

He also said he fears the megadome’s projected annual income of P18 million to P20 million was unattainable, especially if Lapu-Lapu City pushes ahead with its own planned megadome.

The megadome pushed by Garcia is proposed to be built on a 4.3-hectare lot to be donated by the Mandaue City government, which wants to operate the facility jointly with the provincial capitol or have its management turned over to a private entity.

But Maambong answered Mondigo that it is no longer the work of legislators to ask for a feasibility study because that is a function of the governor as chief executive of the province.

"Ours is not to correct the direction of the ship. The initiative came from the governor and we cannot change that. We can only say yes or no," Maambong said.

Still Ortega argued it would be difficult for the board to allocate P250 million and change its mind later because under the law money allocated for a specific purpose cannot be spent for another.

To put the issue to rest, Osmeña called for a vote on whether or not to defer approval of the megadome allocation until the provincial engineering office comes up with a study on the project.

The move for deferment and further study lost, 7-5, even with Maambong, who was for approval, abstaining.

Despite the outcome, Ortega persisted, moving for a new vote on the supplemental budget but this time not just deferring approval of the megadome allocation but deleting it altogether from the supplemental budget.

This time Maambong voted and Ortega’s motion was rejected by an 8-5 vote.

Trying another tack, Ortega shifted to other items in the supplemental budget to assail and question, such as an P86-million allocation for the governor’s office for use as financial assistance to barangays.

He moved that P45 million for barangay projects and basic services be trimmed down to P15 million, while P26 million for development assistance be slashed to P10 million.

His motion was again shot down, 8-5.

And it was still 8-5 when the main motion to approve the entire supplemental budget was called and put to a vote.

Of the entire budget, the provincial engineering office got the lion’s share of P400,508,290.15. Tucked in that amount was the P250 million for the megadome.

A total of P130 million was earmarked for the improvement of roads and bridges and P20 million for additional electrification and waterworks projects.

Also in the supplemental budget was P64,093,397.33 for all 18 district hospitals in the province and P4,260,000 for the loyalty bonuses of qualified provincial capitol employees who have served for at least five years. — Freeman News Service