Budget mess leaves Toledo in the dark, paralyzed

DUE to Mayor John H. Osmena’s refusal to settle the city’s bills, basic services in Toledo City have been “paralyzed” for the past three days.

Almost all government offices in the city including the regional trial courts (RTC) have no electricity after the city government failed to pay its P1.2 million power bill from the Cebeco Electric Cooperative (Cebeco) III.

Ambulances and fire trucks can’t run because there’s no fuel in their tanks.

Toledo City Legal Officer Glenn Cavada said Mayor Osmeña will continue to refrain disbursing money because of a court order that temporarily stopped the release of funds from the city’s annual budget for 2014.

“We may be cited for contempt of court if we pay the bills using the city’s coffers. We also do not want the mayor to disobey the order of the court,” he told Cebu Daily News by phone.

“But I know the mayor is already thinking of other ways to solve this problem. He even used his personal resources and shouldered fuel expenses of our garbage trucks,” he added

Cavada said there are only two instances wherein a local government unit can reenact the budget of a previous year.

One is when there is a failure of the LGU to pass a budget ordinance. Second, is when the court decides with finality that the new budget is invalid and void, he said.

In this case, Cavada said Toledo city already has an approved budget ordinance for 2014 and the court ruling is still temporary, so it does not fall under the two circumstances.

“If they (local opposition) did not question the budget and bring this to court, we wouldn’t have a problem now,” he said.

A few weeks ago, Toledo City RTC Judge Hermes Montero issued a 20-day temporary restraining order (TRO) and eventually a preliminary injunction against the disbursement of the city’s P619 million budget for 2014.

Six of the city’s councilors, who are allied with the opposition One Cebu Party, assailed in court the legitimacy of the budget’s approval. They argued that the City Council did not reach a quorum when the ordinance was passed in a special session last March 27.

In the order, Montero said the order shall remain while the court hears the main case as to whether or not the approval of the budget underwent the proper and legal process.

With this, Cavada said they hope that the Court of Appeals (CA) will act immediately on their petition to lift Montero’s order so that the city government can resume disbursement of funds and City Hall functions normalize.

The petition for certiorari with a request for injunction and temporary restraining order was personally filed by Osmeña before the CA last week.

STALLED SERVICES

Toledo City Vice Mayor Antonio Yapha Sr. said the delivery of the town’s basic services is severely affected due to the disconnection of power in vital offices.

The new City Hall, the fire station, police station, tourism office, the city’s trial court and city-owned traveller’s inn where Osmeña is holding office do not have power.

The city jail, city hospital and streetlights in some of the city’s roads were also not included from the blackout upon the request of the LGU.

NO FUEL

Yapha said their ambulances and firetrucks cannot respond to emergencies because the city cannot supply fuel for the vehicles.

“Ilang pugngan ang budget para wa mi nahimo sa among administrasyon. Politika gyud (They want to stop the budget so that we cannot accomplish anything during our administration. This is all about politics),” he said in a phone interview.

“But the ones severely injured here are the people. We are left inefficient and ineffective due to this,” he added.

The council’s majority bloc in their session last Monday passed a resolution urging Osmeña to pay the city’s dues and the salaries of the employees.

They were the same councilors who opposed the budget in court namely, Helen Jill Espinosa, chairperson of the committee on appropriations, Ricardo Pepito, Antonio Borja Jr., Rogelio Caburnay, Louis Nicholas Espinosa, and Edgardo Aguilar.