Cebu City Hall adopts P6.4-B budget

Cebu City Hall is now following the P6.4-billion annual budget for this year despite the budget impasse between acting Mayor Edgardo Labella and the City Council.

City Budget Officer Marietta Gumia said she decided to implement the P6.4-billion budget after receiving an official copy of the budget ordinance last Tuesday. It was endorsed by the City Council.

Even if the budget ordinance didn’t bear Labella’s signature, Gumia said there was a notation from the council which states that the P6.4-billion 2016 annual budget is “deemed approved.”

“I can’t do anything (but follow it) because there is a direction to execute,” she said.

In last week’s session, the council passed a resolution directing Gumia’s office to execute the 2016 annual budget which they approved.

As of Tuesday, Gumia said her office had been preparing the payroll for the salaries of City Hall employees based on the approved 2016 budget for the first two weeks of work for this year.

This also means that the Sinulog Foundation, Inc. (SFI) will receive P30 million instead of the P25 million that was budgeted for them last year.

The possibility of a reenacted budget surfaced after Labella rejected the council’s proposed P6.4-billion budget.

Labella said he will stand by his earlier decision that there was no valid enactment of the ordinance since it didn’t reach the quorum requirement of at least 10 affirmative votes.

Only nine councilors voted for the passage of the annual budget last December.

“They have already used it. So let this be reviewed by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). If the DBM deems it invalid, then they (council) will have 90 days to come up with a budget. It’s okay because I don’t want to paralyze the operation of the city government,” Labella said.

Gumia said the SFI has only submitted expenses worth P25 million which was already earmarked by the City Budget Office since they thought last year’s budget will be used.

“It depends on them. But based on the approved annual budget, the Sinulog Foundation has P30 million and P25 million has been committed so far. They might submit an additional list of expenses to us,” she said, referring to the remaining P5 million that was not earmarked.

Gumia said they are still waiting on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to submit their list of expenses so they can release their P40 million assistance to them.