City Hall preps P30K bonus for release on Friday

WITH only one City Council session day left for the year, Cebu City Administrator Lucelle Mercado said they’ve already accepted the reality that the P2.8 billion Supplemental Budget (SB1) won’t be approved this year.

“There is only one session left for the year. We will use that to discuss the annual budget since the year is ending. (SB1) is no more. It will just become money savings and unused money which will go back to the general fund,” she said.

It took the council only one day to approve a P207.1 million Supplemental Budget 2 (SB2), which included a P30,000 bonus for each city government employee and official intime for the Christmas break.

However, the Council continues to shelve action on the P2.8 billion SB 1 filed in August.

The majority bloc of the Bando Osmena-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK) refuses to act on SB 1 which is funded by the down payment of the sale of two lots at the South Road Properties (SRP).

They continue to question of the legality of the lots sale through public bidding.

Most of the budget or P2.4 billion is proposed for the pre-payment of the balance of Cebu City’s loan obligation for the SRP.

It also includes a P77 million outlay for the Productivity Enhancement Incentive (PEI) for City Hall employees, equivalent to a month’s salary.

As a consolation, the Council approved SB2 which includes P127.1 million to fund the P30,000 cash incentive for all casual and regular employees funded from “savings” and budget realignments.

“It (SB2) was swiftly approved. It’s very good, no question. They (council) saw the importance to take action right away,” Mercado said.

She said City Treasurer Diwa Cuevas is already processing the cash incentives for distribution by Friday this week.

As for the SRP loan payment, Mercado said the executive department may just opt to submit another supplemental budget next year for this.

The loan prepayment wasn’t included in the proposed P8.9 billion annual budget for the city next year.

“I don’t see any problem if it won’t be paid (this year) although if it will not be acted on fast, we may have to pay another interest and partial payment by February,” she said.

City Legal Officer Jerone Castillo said the council should still act on the SB1.

He said the city has been complying with the documentary requirements for the SRP loan prepayment.

He said there’s no legal basis not to act on SB1 since the court already dismissed a petition for injunction on the matter.

“It will set a bad precedent in local governance if the council will just sit on a budget simply because somebody filed a case.

They owe it to the people of the City of Cebu. They know better. But they must act on it,” Castillo said.