Cebu City revises budget; cuts road, livelihood funds for employee bonuses

A glimpse at the facade of the Cebu City Hall. CDN Digital photo | Brian J. Ochoa

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The revised first supplemental budget (SB1) saw a reduction of funds for road asphalting and livelihood programs to cover the increase in bonuses for City Hall employees.

Vice Mayor Donaldo Hontiveros signed the updated proposal while serving as acting mayor, as Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia was out of town last week. Garcia confirmed the changes in a press conference on March 10.

The revised budget slashed the allocation for road asphalting from P140 million to P100 million, cutting P40 million from the original proposal. Likewise, funds for livelihood programs were reduced by P20 million, lowering the initial P100-million allocation to P80 million.

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The reallocated funds will be used to raise the Service Excellence Incentive for City Hall employees, increasing their 2025 Charter Day bonus from P25,000 to P35,000.

Garcia defended the changes, assuring the public that road projects would continue despite the reduced funding.

Delays in Charter Day bonus release

The budget revisions come after the City Council returned the initial P635-million SB1 proposal to the executive department for revisions.

The delay stemmed from concerns over the financial sustainability of the increased bonus amount, as raised by Councilor Noel Wenceslao, chairman of the Committee on Budget and Finance.

The council had earlier approved raising the bonus from P25,000 to P35,000 through Resolution No. 1, Series of 2025, under the Program Awards and Incentives for Service Excellence (PRAISE).

However, questions arose regarding the financial capacity of special accounts under the Department of Welfare for the Urban Poor (DWUP) and city hospitals to sustain the additional P10,000 per employee. This led to further scrutiny and ultimately delayed the approval process.

Garcia had previously assured City Hall employees that they would receive their incentives within March.

Infrastructure and social programs affected

Aside from employee incentives, SB1 initially included allocations for various infrastructure and social programs, including P140 million for road asphalting projects, P210 million for the continued construction of the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC), and P100 million for livelihood programs to support small-scale vendors.

However, realignments within the Local Development Fund (LDF) became a major point of contention. The Cebu City Development Council (CCDC) proposed a P235-million realignment within the supplementary Annual Investment Program (AIP), which included appropriations from as far back as 2019.

Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera opposed these realignments, particularly the P81-million allocation for unfinished projects in Barangays Bulacao, Tabunan, Capitol, Malubog, Labangon, and Sapangdaku.

Additional realignments from 2020 (P92 million), 2021 (P11 million), and 2022 (P50 million) raised concerns about whether previous appropriations had been effectively utilized.

Engineer Lowell Corminal, head of the Department of Engineering and Public Works, clarified that many of these unimplemented projects were stalled due to the lack of designated locations or landowner consent, requiring further evaluation before funds could be redirected.