Lapu-Lapu City Council plans to file admin charges against department heads

Councilor Flaviano “Bobit” Hiyas (left) says that the Lapu-Lapu City Council plans to file administrative charges against department heads for failing to attend the budget deliberations on regular Council sessions. | CDN Digital file photo

LAPU-LAPU CITY, Philippines — The Lapu-Lapu City Council plans to file administrative charges against department heads for refusing to attend the budget deliberation in their regular sessions.

Councilor Flaviano “Bobit” Hiyas, chairman of the Committee on Budget, said that the continued refusal of the department heads to attend their sessions might result in the reenactment of the city’s annual budget last year.

The city council has until March to deliberate the P3 billion proposed 2022 annual budget of the city.

Hiyas said that the refusal of the department heads to attend their sessions was allegedly due to the order of Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan, which prohibited them from doing so.

Based on their records, there are about 11 sessions already wherein the department heads of the mayor refused to attend.

“Di man gyud ta maka-proceed gyud kay kung nakasubay mo sa press release nila, September pa kuno naghangyo siya sa konseho nga magprepare sa AIP ug annual budget. Very, very wrong. Dili mana trabaho sa konseho, kanang AIP ug annual budget, i-preparar mana sa department heads,” Hiyas said.

(We cannot proceed because if you followed their press release, they requested the City Council to prepare the AIP and the annual budget. That is very, very wrong. That is not the work of the council, preparing the AIP and the annual budget, that is to be prepared by the department heads.)

Earlier, Chan stated that Hiyas told him that it was their political party’s marching order not to approve the 2022 budget.

“Bisan unsaon nato pag explikar, serado na ang ilang huna-huna, nga di jud nila aprobahan ang annual budget 2022,” Chan said.

(Whatever explanation we give, their minds have already been closed, they will not approve the annual budget 2022.)

Chan said that the approval of the AIP and the 2020 and 2021 annual budgets were smoothly approved then.

But now, he said, being an election year it must not be approved and the City would have a 2022 re-enacted budget, or the amount would be similar to the annual budget.

“Para di kalihok si Mayor Ahong kay nagsi-angat na ang eleksyon, mao nay klaro, politika ang lintunganay sa tanan,” he added.

(This is so that Mayor Ahong could not move because the elections is drawing nearer. That is the clear explanation for this, politics is the root of this all.)

Hiyas, however, strongly denied the allegation.

Aside from this, Hiyas said that the city council was also waiting for the mayor’s office to shed light on the Commission on Audit (COA) reports, regarding questionable transactions that the city had entered into.

These included the 52,000 sacks of rice worth P138,000 with no recipients, the COVID-19 related purchases of the city with not enough documentation, and the unliquidated Social Amelioration Program (SAP) budget worth P450,000 from the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO).

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