For the nth time, the Cebu City Council has failed to act on the mayor’s proposed Supplemental Budget No. 1. Majority bloc councilors in the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) continue to sit on it, depriving constituents of needed services like garbage collection and full payment of our SRP debt which we continue to pay contrary to the statement of the former mayor that residents won’t shell out money for development of the reclamation project.
I noticed that BO-PK councilors were dishing out lies to mislead residents to believe that their failure to act on the budget was justified. But these were debunked by the city administration with facts.
Their remaining justification is the civil case filed by a former city prosecutor in court to stop City Hall from spending the proceeds from the sale of two SRP lots.
The court didn’t grant a temporary restraining order but the councilors still refuse to act on the budget. What is so funny is that non-lawyers are the ones blocking action despite the assurance by lawyer members of the council.
Now a crazy idea has cropped up from their camp for the administration to put up a bond. If that’s set up, Councilor Margot Osmeña said then they can discuss SB 1.
However, the mayor nixed the absurd idea, saying that if the court orders a bond then they will comply but if the court says nothing then there was no need to put up a bond.
Clearly, the only reason BO-PK councilors are not acting on the proposal is political. They don’t want to give the mayor the wherewithal to implement programs that they see as detrimental to their own interests, especially that of their selfish master.
They want to deprive city residents of projects that benefit them from the sale of SRP lots. It’s pathetic and very selfish of them.
I am not sure BO-PK councilors will ever act on the proposed budget. If it comes to this, the people can directly act as a sovereign on this matter or the mayor can raise this to the Department of Budget and Management (DB) and the Department of Interior and Local Government Authority as an act of grave abuse of authority for holding the budget hostage.
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Administration officials are trying to counter the damage over the bullet-planting scandal at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look into the controversy which was worsened by the insensitive comments of several government officials.
Early reports in social media said the NBI has confirmed that a syndicate operates in NAIA to extort money from local and foreign tourists, and OFWs. The scam has caught the world’s attention. Even the United Nations came out with a travel advisory for its staff about it.
To locals, the NAIA is now called the Laglag Bala International Airport. For the sake of our country, we should be able to uncover this racket and stop the shakedowns.
Liberal Party vice presidential bet Leni Robredo filed a bill to decriminalize the possession of at least three bullets as a practical step since many Filipinos are fond of using empty shells as amulets. Robredo is more sensible than some of her party-mates.