Mayor Rama: I won’t beg Council to approve budget

Mayor Mike Rama with demostrators. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)

Work resumed at Cebu City Hall yesterday, a day after over 1,000 employees crowded Plaza Sugbu to protest against delays in the passage of the P2.8 billion Supplemental Budget 1 by the City  Council.

But some employees continued to wear their black armbands.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said  he was studying  legal options to ensure that  SB 1 is passed by the council but  emphasized “I won’t beg”.

He said there was no need to look for other revenue sources to fund the employees’ one-month Performance Enhancement Incentive (PEI), as suggested by Councilor Margot Osmeña.

He said he won’t allow the executive department’s Local Finance Committee (LFC) to meet with  Osmeña’s   budget and finance committee for this.

“If she (Margot Osmeña) is just going to be telling them what she said and then tell them to go against the mayor – why? Who is the mayor now? She should be asking me. If she wants a meeting, she should see me and I will tell her what to do,” Rama told reporters.

In a priviliege speech in the council the other day, Osmeña said they idetnified a  P1.1 billion source from continuing appropriations dating back to 2007 which the city can use for SB1.

The council deferred  actuib  on the P2.8 billion SB1 last week since a civil case was filed  against them by a  Romulo T. Torres, questioning the legality of using proceeds of the sale of lots in the South Road Properties.

Approve or disapprove

The P8.3 billion downpayment form the lot sales is the only fund source of  SB1.

Osmeña asked for a meeting with the LFC to discuss the other sources of funds.

But the Mayor said the council was overstepping its bounds.

“They should not tell me what to do. Just approve or disapprove the budget.  Why would they tell me? What right do they have? Their right is to approve or disapprove the budget. It’s simple. The right to submit the budget belongs to the executive. The right for the council is to approve or disapprove it, not to tell the mayor what to do,” he said.

Deferment

Asked what he would  do if the council continues to stall SB1, Rama said he doesn’t have to reveal his moves.

The majority bloc of the council, Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) allied councilors, voted 9-7 not to lift the deferment on deliberation of the SB1 during their regular session last Wednesday.

Only one more vote was needed for a tie which would toss the matter to Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella to resolve.

“If they have decided already, I don’t want to beg,” said the mayor.

“Come on. They should know what to do.  The people will judge them as either insensitive or  incompetent.  I wish it is not stupidity,” he said.

BO-PK-allied councilor Sisinio Andales said they’re doing their part in helping solve the impassebut that  the mayor  has closed his mind.

“We wanted to solve the scenario but if the mayor won’t allow it, we can’t do anything. The mayor is already closed and he just wants to blame the council,”Andales said.

In barangay Mambaling,cCouncilwoman Anne Vestil-Palomo said she will call 14 garbage loaders and three truck drivers to explain why they went to Plaza Sugbu to join the protest action.

Partisan politics

She said she would consult  Danilo Almendras, Cebu City director of the Department of Interior and Local Governments (DILG), on how to deal with barangay officials and employees who joined the rally.

“As much as possible, we discourage partisan politics in our barangay,” Palomo said.

Palomo said there was  no need for barangay Mambaling to send their officials and employees to join the City Hall rally when there’s no allocation for their barangay in the proposed SB 1.

Palomo said she learned that the barangay employees were told by barangay chairman Willy go to attend the “Gubat sa Basura” meeting of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC).

No meeting

Drivers brought two of their garbage trucks to City Hall.  Palomo said she was also told by other barangay employees that some of their senior citizens also joined barangay captain Go to City Hall.

The group returned to their barangay hall at 3 p.m. on Wednesday.