Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama. | file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama has instructed the City Accounting Department to hasten the obligating of the budget allocated for the P5,000 aid for structure owners affected by Typhoon Odette.
Rama said the delay in the release of the P5,000 aid is due to a technicality in the budget policies, which requires the unused funds of 2021 to be returned to the general funds at the end of the year.
This means, that the unreleased portion of the P600 million cash aid budget for all types of typhoon aid for the residents, including structure owners, farmers, and others, should be returned to general funds.
The City Accounting is working on obligating the said budget so it can be released even in 2022.
Only 18 out of 82 barangays have received their P5,000 financial aid for structure owners, while 62 other barangays are still waiting for theirs. The release is also dependent on the validated list submitted by the Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS) to the City Accounting.
“Of course padalion nato (ang pagrelease). Kanang 62 barangays, if only I can give magic, I will give magic.”
“I also talked and told City Administrator Suzanne Ardosa to provide a report where we are now, how many barangays left, how much money do we have. So that if there is still a deficiency, we can bring it to the City Council, we can request for the supplemental budget,” said the mayor.
Rama also announced that Secretary Christopher “Bong” Go, through his own initiative, will be providing help to Cebu City. The city is set to receive a still to be verified amount for additional typhoon aid.
The mayor has also talked with Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea on the city’s request for a P5 billion aid from President Rodrigo Duterte, and he hopes for a favorable response from the President.
Rama assured the residents that the P5,000 will soon be released when the necessary processes will be completed.
Should the budget not be enough, he is also ready to request a supplemental budget from the City Council in the coming days or weeks. /rcg
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Odette victims from 62 Cebu City brgys still await release of P5,000 cash aid
Release of assistance for typhoon-struck Cebu City residents starts Dec. 30