Mandaue City Vice Mayor Nerissa Soon-Ruiz. Photo: Mary Rose Sagarino
MANDAUE CITY, Philippines —- Mandaue City Vice Mayor Nerissa Soon-Ruiz has raised questions about the city’s P16 million allocation for Christmas activities and hams for employees next year.
On Friday, Nov. 15, Soon-Ruiz said she had already sent a letter to the Human Resource Management Office on Thursday, requesting the number of City Hall employees, including job order employees and clean and green personnel.
She clarified that she is not against giving hams or holding a Christmas party for employees but emphasized the need for transparency.
“Malipay ta nga naa tay ikahatag sa mga empleyado, pero naay daghan tawo, mambubuhis sa Mandaue gusto pod makahibaw asa padulong ila’ng kwarta. The Mandauehanon has the right to know,” said Soon-Ruiz.
The budget for “Pasko sa Mandaue” this year is P7 million, but the allocation for next year has been increased to P16 million.
Soon-Ruiz also noted that the P16 million does not include expenses for Christmas decorations, as confirmed by City Budget Officer Giovanni Tianero, who appeared as a resource speaker during the City Council session last Monday, Nov. 11.
“Ibutang ta lang ang gasto sa pasundayag P5 million or P6 million, ang P10 million o P11 million padung sa hamon? Mao nang nangutana ko unsa man gyud kadaghan ang empleyado nga mogahin man ta og ingun ana nga amount,” said Soon-Ruiz.
“Ibutang ta lang P500 ang ham, ibutang ta lang idivide P10 million kay P6 million sa pasundayag, idivide 20,000. Would you expect 20,000 employees? Kay the last I know, mga 2 or 3,000 kapin unless daghan kaayo sila og gihire. Mao siguro mahadlok sila mahibaw-an kay sige man sila og hiring job orders, contractuals nga magamit sa period sa (election) campaign,” she added.
The P16 million budget is part of the general fund and is included in the P4.5 billion budget for Mandaue for 2025, which was passed by the majority of the City Council members last Monday.
However, three opposition councilors opposed the budget’s passage, citing alleged “under-budgeted” items, such as the flood control project, which received an allocation of only P38 million.
Soon-Ruiz also raised her concerns about the P16 million “Pasko sa Mandaue” allocation during the session.
“Ngano kuno as presiding officer dili kuno ko ka pangutana, dili motingog. Wala man na sa atong balaod, internal rules, even sa rules sa parliament nga the presiding officer can ask clarificatory questions or makahimo og comment nga mugbo dili nagside, naa ba gud kay gipaboran. It was to clarify how many employees,” said Soon-Ruiz.
The Vice Mayor admitted that she and Councilors Joel Seno, Cesar Cabahug Jr., and Andreo Icalina were unable to attend the committee hearing held on October 16 due to prior commitments. However, she argued that two days is insufficient to scrutinize the budget thoroughly.
Meanwhile, administration councilors stated that detailed questions could have been addressed during the committee hearing, especially since specific answers from concerned offices, such as the budget office, are required.
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