ILOILO City – Mayor Jose Espinosa III partially vetoed the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP)-approved 2019 executive budget.
He vetoed the budget for the maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE), according to City Administrator Hernando Galvez.
The MOOE included that of the Local Youth Development Office (LYDO) which was given a zero budget.
“With this partial veto, last year’s appropriation for the same item would thus be reenacted,” Galvez told Panay News.
Espinosa signed the budget with partial veto on Dec. 27.
The SP approved the 2019 executive budget amounting to P2,318,992,692.
The proposed budget was P2,319,192,692 but the SP took out the P200 thousand allocation for the LYDO.
The LYDO failed to address the concerns raised by Councilor Leila Luntao, president of the Sangguniang Kabataan city federation, one of which was their overlapping functions, according to Councilor Plaridel Nava, chairperson of the committee on appropriations.
In his committee chairman’s report, Nava cited a budgetary innovation he introduced – the splitting into two parts the MOOE and capital outlay of the chief executive as well as those of city councilors.
Half of the budget for each office/account is allocated from January to June 2019; the other half is from July to December.
This aims to ensure that incumbent elective officials seeking reelection “shall not abuse and misuse public funds…to promote their self-serving political interests,” Nava explained.
The midterm elections are on May 13, 2019.
All sources of funds for job hires were likewise divided in two tranches.
With regards to the budgets proposed by department heads, Nava’s committee recommended their full approval.
The department heads were in the best position to determine the needs of their respective offices, said Nava.
Only Councilor Eduardo Peñaredondo, former appropriations committee chairperson, objected to the budget innovation. It could hamper the delivery of services or operation of certain offices, most especially during emergencies, he said./PN
