Council wants COA to resolve disallowance of barangay aid

The Cebu City Council wanted to resolve the pending appeal of Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) on the notice of disallowance issued by the Commission on Audit (COA) against the release of financial assistance to the city’s barangays.

City Councilor Jerry Guardo moved for the resolution through a privilege motion asking the COA to hasten the resolution of the pending appeal of ABC.

Guardo, who is the chairman of the Committee on Infrastructure, said that his office obtained the memorandum issued by City Engineering office OIC Engr. Josefa Ylanan suspending all the barangays’ projects that were charged against the P800-million financial assistance following the COA ruling.

The previous city council appropriated the P800-million financial assistance to be divided equally among the city’s 80 barangays last year.

But it was disallowed by COA early this year and ordered the barangay officials to return the monetary aid to the city government.

“I am afraid that the suspension order from the city engineer will deprive our barangays of their social and economic development,” Guardo said.

Guardo wanted Ylanan to lift the suspension order for the barangays to continue their respective projects. But Councilor Alvin Arcilla said the city could not guarantee the payment of contractors once the implementation of the projects resumes.

“Naa bay garantiya nga mabayran sila (contractors) after completing the projects considering that naay disallowance coming from COA,” Arcilla said.

Councilor Eugenio Gabuya Jr. suggested that instead of asking the City Engineer to lift the suspension, it is better to address the resolution to COA in order to resolve the appeal of ABC.