Budget hostaged

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.