BACOLOD City – City Legal Officer Joselito Bayatan rejected suspicions of overpricing in budget proposals of the City Health Office (CHO) intended for the city government’s response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
“This is pure and simple dirty politics. We have no time for this,” Bayatan pointed out.
He was referring to lone opposition councilor Wilson Gamboa Jr., whom he said only wanted to be relevant because the latter has no committee in the city council.
Gamboa recently asked City Budget Officer Maria Imelda Williams to review CHO’s proposal to procure vitamin C with Zinc worth P2,500 per box.
Gamboa said the price was too high, adding that he had a bottle of the same vitamins at only P390.
The councilor also questioned CHO’s proposed procurement of alcohol at P1,500 per gallon. He said he has one at home bought at P599 only.
City Health Officer Carmela Gensoli, for her part, justified the “vitamins issue,” saying these prices were only a proposal as items were not yet purchased.
“Ang gina-propose mo mataas ang price kay indi ka pa kabalo sang exact amount gid. Kon magkabos ang imo gin-propose sin-o matabon?” Gensoli pointed out.
The purchase of vitamin supplements, she said, will undergo proper procedures.
“There’s a lot of processes like bidding,” Gensoli added.
To recall, the Sangguniang Panlungsod approved on final reading an ordinance appropriating some P113 million for the maintenance and other operating expenses of the city’s response against COVID-19.
Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran said the newly passed appropriation budget will be utilized by several offices of the local government.
These were the following:
* P22 million for the CHO
* P28 million for the City Engineer’s Office
* P32 million for City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office
* P30 million for the Department of Social Services and Development
“The said budget was immediately approved by the city council because of the need of the city due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases here,” Familiaran said./PN
