ILOILO City – Why did Mayor Jose Espinosa III veto certain items in the P2.318-billion 2019 annual budget (Appropriation Ordinance No. 2018-008) of the city government? The partial veto covered items under Maintenance and Operating Expenses (MOOE) of the City Mayor’s Office except for Security Services and Project Dakip, and the salaries of casuals under several offices.
They were “deemed prejudicial to public welfare,” stated Espinosa in his veto message to the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP).
The SP approved the 2019 budget but split in two the MOOE and capital outlay of the chief executive as well as the city councilors’. Half of the budget for each office/account is appropriated from January to June 2019; the other half is from July to December 2019.
According to Espinosa, the split made the budget a “semi-budget” which was not allowed by law.
Councilor Plaridel Nava, chairperson of the SP appropriations committee, said the splitting would ensure that incumbent elective officials seeking reelection this May won’t be able to “abuse and misuse public funds…to promote their self-serving political interests.”
Espinosa, however, said it had no legal basis and imposed unauthorized budgetary restrictions and limitations in addition to those already provided for by law.
The splitting of the budget could slow down if not cripple “the performance and efficiency of every office concerned as they will be limited by such appropriation for a period without other recourse in cases of emergency, contingency, lack of supplies, lack of personnel, and inadequate equipment,” stressed Espinosa.
The mayor also vetoed the budget for the casuals’ salaries – which the SP also split in two – under the following offices:
* City Mayor’s Office
* City Population Office
* Human Resource Management Office
* City Budget Office
* City Legal Office
* City Planning and Development Office
* City Treasurer’s Office
* City Assessor’s Office
* City Agriculturist Office
* City Civil Registrar’s Office
* City Engineer’s Office
* City General Service Office
* City Environment and Natural Resources Office
* City Accountant’s Office
* City Veterinarian’s Office
* City Tourism Office
* City Social Welfare and Development Office
* Technical Institute of Iloilo City
* Iloilo City Community College
* Internal Audit Services Office
* Public Safety and Transportation Management Office
* honoraria for Traffic Control Program, Auxiliary Police Program, Barangay Health Services, and Family Planning Services.
According to Espinosa, the budget split would put into uncertainty the city government’s health services, procurement services, economic and investment promotion; education, housing, environment, and sports programs, programs for the elderly, tax enforcement and/or tax campaign, tourism promotion, care for the marginalized sector, and public safety, among others.
The mayor also bucked the scrapping of the P200,000 budget of the Local Youth and Development Office (LYDO).
“It would not only paralyze the delivery of services to the youth sector but would also be in derogation of the mandate creating said office in which local governments are obligated by law to include in their annual budgets such amounts as may be necessary for the operation and effective functioning of the LYDO,” said Espinosa.
Councilor Nava previously said 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./PN
