ILOILO City – A day after announcing that the city government would be allotting a P25-million assistance to the Iloilo Festivals Foundation, Inc. (IFFI) that has been tapped to handle the 2020 edition of Dinagyang Festival, Mayor Jerry Treñas said yesterday no government fund would be released to the foundation.
The city mayor apparently overlooked a requirement set by the Local Government Code and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). No fund could be released to civil society organizations not accredited by the local government unit.
During the Sangguniang Panlungsod’s (SP) deliberation yesterday on IFFI’s application for accreditation, city councilors agreed to defer taking action after Councilor Eduardo Peñaredondo pointed out that the foundation may not be able to meet the accreditation guidelines.
According to Peñaredondo, the IFFI lacked track record (at least one year) and financial records required by the Local Government Code and DILG.
DILG Memorandum Circular No. 2019-72 released on May 22, 2019 listed the requirements for local government accreditation of civil society organizations. Two of these were:
* community-based and sectoral-based, with project development and implementation track record of at least one year
* reliability, as evidenced by the preparation of annual reports and conduct of annual meetings duly certified by the board secretary of the organization
The IFFI was organized only in July this year and its officers were inducted by Treñas only this Monday, Sept. 16, on the same day the mayor announced a P25-million city government assistance to the foundation.
“The IFFI is a new organization. It is impossible to accredit it at this time. We would all be held liable for violating the Local Government Code and the DILG memo circular,” Peñaredondo warned fellow councilors.
But Peñaredondo may have misunderstood DILG Memorandum Circular No. 2019-72, a former Commission on Audit (COA) Region 6 official told Panay News.
“It bears stressing that according to Item 2.3 (of the memo), its issuance intended to cover accreditation for purpose of representation in the local special bodies, not for joint venture implementation of projects,” according to the former COA official who asked not to be identified.
Item 2.3 of the memo read: “This Memorandum Circular shall only involve the accreditation process for civil society organizations for purpose of representation in the local special bodies.”
According to the former COA official, “the applicable guidelines insofar as accreditation of nongovernment organizations, but necessarily to be done by sanggunian, is COA Circular No. 2007-01 as reiterated in COA Circular No. 2012-001.”
Also, the former official added, “If the city government wanted to release funds to the participating public schools, then it has to observe the guidelines provided in COA Circular No. 94-013.”
Peñaredondo, meanwhile, stressed that IFFI could continue operating and “help the city of Iloilo in whatever undertaking through a memorandum of agreement, but as far as funding this organization, it is prohibited.”
“Probably, the IFFI could have a joint venture or undertaking with an organization already accredited,” Peñaredondo suggested.
After learning of the SP’s decision to defer taking action on IFFI’s accreditation, Treñas said, “The foundation will not receive any funds from the city.”
The city government will release Dinagyang money directly to the participating schools and festival-related activities.
Treñas, however, said he would continue coordinating with the IFFI so that the Local Government Code and DILG requirements would be met.
The Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation, Inc. (IDFI) used to be the city government’s partner in organizing the annual Dinagyang but in June this year Treñas announced a new foundation would be formed to manage the festival starting this January 2020.
IDFI got Treñas’ ire in January this year for not inviting him to the festival.
In a previous interview, Treñas said that as an official of the city (he was the congressman then), he should have been invited and that the festival should have been spared from politics. He was then running against the incumbent mayor, Jose Espinosa III.
It was during Treñas’ term as mayor from 2001 to 2010 that the private sector – the IDFI for that matter – was tapped as official managing partner of the city government and the Parish of San Jose de Placer for the Dinagyang.
In deciding to drop IDFI, Treñas said there were people in the foundation he could no longer work with.
He also said the IDFI had no ownership or exclusive right over the staging of Dinagyang “kay ti iya ina sang pumoluyo sang syudad.”
It was learned yesterday that IDFI was seeking to renew its accreditation with the city government. The SP, however, was yet to act on its application.
During the Dinagyang 2020 launching on Monday, the IFFI bared 11 festival-related activities: Iloilo Dinagyang Art Festival (Jan. 18 to 25), Ilonggo Food Festival (Jan. 23 to 26), Miss Iloilo 2020 (Jan. 24), Tambor Trumpa Martsa Musika (Jan. 24), fluvial and solemn foot procession (Jan. 24), Floats Parade of Lights (Jan. 24), fireworks display (Jan. 24), Dinagyang sa Calle Real (Jan. 25), Festive Parade Sponsors Mardi Gras (Jan. 25), religious sadsad (Jan. 25), and Dinagyang 360° (Jan. 26)./PN
