JVR laments Talisay budget cuts: I’ve cried tears of blood

Mayor delivers state of the city address in old Tabunok public market

For almost half of his two-hour speech, Talisay City Mayor Johnny delos Reyes complained about how  budget cuts by the opposition in the council have caused the scrapping of  projects and forced him to dip into his pockets to help the poor.

“Naa man untay kwarta ang gobyerno. Nganong giingon ani man ninyo inyong mayor (The government has money. Why are you doing this to your mayor)?” delos Reyes said in his State of the City Address last night.

A sea of yellow, from flags and balloons to the shirts that the mayor’s supporters wore, greeted delos Reyes as he delivered his speech in the old Tabunok Public Market, where he promised   a new complex would rise.

No show

Vice Mayor Romeo Villarante and majority of the city council were nowhere to be seen. Only city councilors Dennis Basillote and Valeriano Ylanan attended the event which began promptly at 5 p.m. The mayor spoke after two hours of entertainment numbers.

The council slashed the mayor’s proposed P1.081-billion budget to P539.941 million early this year.  This caused the scrapping of several projects such as the construction of the Tabunok public market, a road expansion in Cruzan, and the repair and asphalting of sitio roads.

Because of the cuts, delos Reyes said he has shelled out more than P200,000 in the last six months to provide financial assistance to city residents.

“Makahilak tawon ko og dugo (I cried tears of blood),” he said.

Among others, he said he gave P15,000 to a city policeman as incentive for the capture of two robbers. He also gave P10,000 for the early capture of a murder suspect.

The rift between the mayor and the legislative department started when the council disapproved the mayor’s request for a P397-million budget to construct a new Tabunok market.

Delos Reyes said the city government had no  budget for activities on Labor Day, the annual Takas sa Talisay, and Gabii sa Kabilin.

During the first half of his speech,  the mayor reported his accomplishments and urged  people to  compare these with achievements of the previous administration under then mayor Socrates Fernandez.

Delos Reyes ran in 2013 under the Liberal Party. Fernandez is linked to the Gullas-run Alayon Party.

The mayor said his predecessor  left Talisay with with a debt of P137 million.

“Ako ang nagbayad sa ilang utang (I am paying for their debt),” he said.

He said he set up  a pharmacy for indigents and repaired  more than 10 roads in various barangays.

A new diagnostic laboratory to provide free medical check-up to indigents will be operational this year, he added.

He said Talisay  started earning more when he sat as mayor in 2013, citing  higher revenues from the slaughterhouse and the Tabunok market.

“The rich don’t need a mayor, but the poor do. The poor don’t need a professional mayor. They need a mayor they can run to,” he said.