Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama has partially vetoed the City Council’s approved Supplemental Budget 2 (SB2) for this year.
Rama vetoed the budget items on “City Sponsored Activities” and “Confidential or Intelligence Expense.”
Rama disagreed with the sharp reduction of the appropriations introduced by the City Council.
The mayor proposed in the supplemental budget 2 (SB2) a lump sum of P20 million for “City Sponsored Activities” but the City Council only approved P9.7 million.
The City Council also reduced the P5-million additional Intelligence Fund to only P100,000.
In his veto message, Rama said: “I am constrained to veto “City Sponsored Activities” for unjustifiably restricting my authority, as Local Chief Executive, to use and realign savings to more critical activities of the City Government.”
He said budget execution “remains the sole responsibility, and accountability of the mayor.
“Considering that the Peace and Order Program of the City of Cebu, especially intelligence gathering activities, remains a primordial and priority concern of the City, I am therefore constrained to veto the said item,” Rama said.
The executive’s original proposed SB2 was P501 million. But the council only approved P243,727,327.87.
“The success of our Administration will be the success of the people of the City of Cebu. Let us continue to pursue reform to institute efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, and accountability.
And for the sake of the people, may we continue to improve our actions and decision,” the mayor said as his closing statement in the veto message.