BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – The City Council has approved this year’s third supplemental budget of P501,777,362.28 to address key expenditures, including terminal leave pay and ongoing infrastructure projects.
The allocation covers expenses related to employee compensations, including terminal leave pay, maintenance and operating expenses (MOOE) or for essential government services and activities, and capital outlay for ongoing and new infrastructure projects aimed at improving the city’s facilities and services.
City Budget Officer Viminale Capulso said this supplemental budget focuses on employee benefits, waste management, and welfare programs.
The funds for personal services include the terminal leave benefits for retired City Hall employees, additional compensation for overtime work, and newly created positions in the City Mayor’s Office and the Health Department to enhance administrative and health services.
The allocations for maintenance and operating expenses will cover expenses for garbage collection and disposal, rental of heavy equipment for infrastructure-related needs, and additional soil cover for the waste disposal facility at the Calajunan dumpsite in the Mandurriao district.
On the other hand, the funds for welfare programs will finance senior citizen welfare program, centenarian and citizens welfare program to incentivize and recognize senior citizens aged 100 and above, and the city’s contribution to the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), providing aid to low-income families.
The capital outlay projects under the recently approved supplemental budget also highlight major infrastructure upgrades and equipment procurement.
These include the phase II rehabilitation of Jaro Big Market, La Paz Public Market, and Arevalo Public Market undergoing further improvements to modernize and enhance market facilities for vendors and customers.
The funding for these projects will be sourced from a PHP300 million loan secured from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).
The budget for capital outlay also includes the procurement of demolition hammers intended for the Office of the City Engineer to assist in demolition and construction activities.
According to Capulso, the procurement was initially proposed for the 2025 annual budget but was prioritized for inclusion in the 2024 budget after deliberations.
Likewise, Capulso said the city government will finance the construction of several multi-purpose buildings, which will serve various community functions and improve public service delivery in Iloilo City.
In August 2024, the Iloilo City Council approved a P411.35-million supplemental budget, which included funding for a 4 percent across-the-board salary increase for city employees.
Some P19 million was earmarked to fund the salary adjustment, which took effect on August 2, 2024.
The increase complies with Executive Order 64, issued by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., which mandates updates to the salary schedule for civilian government personnel.
However the City Budget Office clarified that the supplemental budget does not cover the 21 months of back pay stipulated by Republic Act No. 11466 (Salary Standardization Law of 2019).
The city government had not implemented the back pay adjustment, and the supplemental budget focused only on the current salary updates./PN
