ILOILO City – Mayor Jose Espinosa III has not ruled out exercising his veto power over the Sangguniang Panlungsod-approved 2019 executive budget of P2.3 billion.
Once his office receives its copy from the city council, Espinosa said he would ask “the city’s financial experts” to study it and would act based on their recommendations.
The SP approved the budget with an innovation introduced by the appropriations committee – the maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) and capital outlay of the chief executive as well as the city councilors were split into two. Fifty percent of the budget for each office/account is to be utilized on the first half of 2019 (January to June) and the remaining 50 percent on the second half of the year (July to December).
“Okay man lang. They are simply doing their job. We will do ours,” said Espinosa.
According to the mayor, he has three options – accept the approved budget as it is; make a partial veto; and full veto.
“I will cross the bridge when I get there,” said Espinosa.
Appropriations committee chairperson Councilor Plaridel Nava said he wanted an “election-proof” 2019 budget.
The innovation he introduced, he said, would make sure that incumbent elective city government officials seeking reelection on May 2019 would not be able to “abuse and misuse public funds…to promote their self-serving political interests.”
“Election-proof? Meaning to say, pulitika? Waay ko ya gapamulitika,” said Espinosa.
According to the mayor, executive budgets of previous administrations (under former mayors Mansueto Malabor, Rodolfo Ganzon, Jed Patrick Mabilog, and Jerry Treñas) did not have the innovations similar to what Nava introduced even during election years.
“No Iloilo City mayor had ever vetoed an SP-approved executive budget,” added Espinosa.
Councilor Eduardo Peñaredondo, former appropriations committee chairperson, questioned Nava’s budget innovation. It could hamper the delivery of services or operation of certain offices, most especially during emergencies, he said.
“Like ang capital outlay, kun mabakal ka salakyan nga kinahanglanon, indi magamit. Mahulat ka naman six months, kundi kulangon ka naman,” said Peñaredondo.
He also described as “unrealistic” the July-December placement of the budget for the summer jobs program employing students being carried out during the months of April and May.
Also, the approved 2019 executive budget allocated none for the Local Youth Development Office (LYDO). The SP took out the P200 thousand allocation for this office.
The LYDO failed to address the concerns raised by Councilor Leila Luntao, the president of the Sangguniang Kabataan city federation, one of which was their overlapping functions, according to Nava./PN
