City can’t utilize P200T in supplemental budget

CEBU, Philippines — The Department of Budget and Management (DBM)-7 has declared inoperative some parts of Cebu City government’s approved P716-million Supplemental Budget-1 this year.

The affected items, amounting to P203,067, are the salary and wages per personnel schedule, life and retirement salary of some employees, midyear and year-end bonus of some employees.

“It will not affect the budget. Ang kanang items nga inoperative kay dili gihapon magamit nato because kuwang ang plantilla,” said City Budget Officer Marietta Gumia.

Gumia said the affected items are supposedly for the Sangguniang Kabataan chairman and the increase of the salaries of the third-termer city councilors.

The city cannot use the amount aligned to the items the DBM had declared as inoperative.

Gumia said the salary and wages per personnel schedule are for the third-termer city councilors, while the life and retirement salary of some employees, midyear bonus and the year-end bonus of some employees are for the SK chairpersons.

“Pero sa kani nga case nga inoperative items namo, dili man gihapon nato ma-implement because we don’t have SK chairman,” she said.

Gumia said she has yet to confer with three city councilors who are in their third term if they will push through with getting a salary increase, adding that it will be the basis if the city will appeal the DBM’s ruling.

As of now, the City Council’s committee on budget and finance is studying its next move after receiving the DBM review.

In the budget review, DBM Director IV Carmela Fernan said the affected items are “excess appropriations” under the Office of the Sangguniang Panlungsod- Legislative.

Other than those, the rest of the items in the supplemental budget is operative and can be used as per allocation subject to the posting of requirements under the Local Government Code.

She cited several conditions so that the city government could use the additional budget this year.

One of the conditions include that the Capital Outlay and Capital Expenditures under the General Fund-Proper and the Local Development Fund should be used subject to the authorization of the City Council on the list of projects to be implemented.

Also, the DBM asked the city government to approve a Supplementary Annual Investment Plan (AIP) with the enactment of the additional budget.

“It is therefore enjoined that a Supplementary AIP be prepared and approved before the preparation and enactment of the supplemental budget as prescribed in the synchronized local planning and budgeting calendar per said JMC (joint memorandum circular),” reads a portion of the three-page budget review.

The JMC was issued by the Department of the Interior and Local Government, National Economic and Development Authority, DBM, and Department of Finance. (FREEMAN)