Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama beat the deadline and submitted a proposed budget of P18.9 billion for 2015 – the city’s biggest budget if approved by the Cebu City Council.
Rama dubbed next year’s budget as “people’s budget” which is thrice more than this year’s P5.9 billion.
The biggest chunk will go to the Department of Engineering and Public Works which has an allocation of P5 billion. Of the amount, P114 million will be set aside for drainage maintenance to address the city’s perennial flooding problem.
The question, however, is how Rama will be able to fund his “people’s budget.”
The City Treasurer’s Office is even P2 billion short in its revenues to fund this year’s P5.9 billion budget.
Only P3.9 billion had been collected as of Sept. 30 – the end of the third quarter.
Acting City Treasurer Diwa Cuevas was confident that the city could raise the P2 billion before the end of 2014. If it took her nine months to collect P3.9 billion, could we expect to collect P2 billion in just three months? It may just be a steep climb to reach the target.
But the executive has come up with solutions to fund the “people’s budget.” One is to sell pieces of land from South Road Properties to come up with P10.8 billion. The P3.1 billion will be raised through domestic borrowing.
Before the city will resort to borrowing and selling of property, isn’t it just prudent to remove the fats from the budget first and come up with a realistic proposal that can be funded by revenues?
For one, does the city really need a “killhouse” worth P45 million to train policemen in what Rama called close quarter battle – whatever that means.
Does the city really need two reclamation projects worth P80 million when the city has yet to fully utilize the 300-hectare SRP?
Does the city need a new Cebu City police office building worth P50 million especially when the finances are tight right now? Can the building be financed by the Department of Interior and Local Government especially when the Philippine National Police is under the DILG and not the city government?
Rama may have intentionally jacked up his budget proposal because, anyway, the City Council has always sliced by half.
Nothing is expected to change this year despite the exodus of three Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan members to the administration bloc.
The BOPK still holds the majority vote -albeit by one vote and the budget committee is still chaired by Margot Osmeña, wife of Rama’s political rival, Tomas Osmeña.
Regardless of the outcome, city officials should only remember one thing: the funds financed by the budget comes from the taxes of the people. And with that, they should not play with it.
They must ensure that the final version should always be responsive to the needs of Cebu and the Cebuanos and not for reelection purposes.
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