Cebu governor says no projects will be sacrificed for COVID-19 response
The Cebu Provincial Capitol. | CDN file
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Despite unplanned expenses for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response, Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia assures the public that the Capitol has enough funds to pursue its planned projects for 2020.
Garcia assured that none of the programs, particularly the infrastructure projects, that were allocated for in the province’s P12 billion budget for 2020 will be sacrificed to give way to the COVID-19 responses.
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In an interview, the governor said she has not realigned any of the allocations in the 2020 budget despite the disbursement of at least P373 million of financial assistance to its component local government units (LGUs) for the COVID-19 response.
Garcia said she does not intend to seek a supplemental budget as well.
Despite the different levels of community quarantine implemented in the province since last March 30, 2020, Garcia said the province’s income has still kept up with its target collections.
As of Tuesday, June 14, 2020, the Provincial Treasurer’s Office said it has yet to issue its official report for the Capitol’s collections for the first five months.
Since the GCQ implementation last March 30, Garcia said the province’s loss includes the income from the operations of the Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT).
In an earlier interview, Provincial Treasurer Roy Salubre said the CSBT used to contribute P6 million to P7 million to the province’s coffers a month.
READ: Capitol eyes P12 billion income for 2020
READ: COVID-19 gets big chunk off gov’t income, too
Of the province’s P12-billion budget for this year, Garcia earlier said that improvement of the provincial government’s infrastructure and medical services are among the top priorities in line with the national government’s “Build-Build-Build” program and the implementation of the Universal Health Care Law. /bmjo
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