P211M needed to augment Cebu City’s peace and order

The Cebu City Development Council (CCDC) has proposed to the City Council to allocate P211 million to augment the city’s peace and order.

The proposal was part of the Cebu City Annual Investment Plan (AIP) for 2019 and was already referred to the council’s committee on finance and budget.

Aside from peace and order, the 2019 proposed AIP budget of P13 billion will also finance the city’s local disaster risk reduction and management plan, local climate change action plan, local nutrition plan, and the gender and development plan.

It was certified by CCDC chairperson and City Planning Officer Jose Guisadio, and Barangay T. Padilla Captain Michael Ralotta, who sits as CCDC’s acting presiding officer.

On October 5, the CCDC approved its P13 billion 2019 AIP budget which Councilor Margarita Osmeña, chair of the council’s committee on budget and finance and member of CCDC, described as “more realistic” than the ones submitted in the previous years.

Peace and order

The proposed P211,453,445 budget for the city’s peace and order will be used to intensify drug screenings by the Cebu City Office on Substance Abuse Prevention (P5.2 million), drug awareness activities (P6 million), honorariums for members of the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team (P15 million), assistance to firemen (P8 million), salary of policemen in the mountain barangays (P2 million), and additional equipment and vehicles for the police (P5 million).

The AIP also serves as guide for the city’s executive department in the drafting of its own budget for 2019.

Last Friday, City Budget Officer Marrieta Gumia told the media that the executive department will be proposing a budget of P8.1 billion for next year.