Rama optimistic city can provide P18.9B budget

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City’s executive department is optimistic to provide for the proposed Annual Budget for 2015 amounting to P18.9 billion.

 Mayor Michael Rama said he has directed the city’s Local Finance Committee to double its efforts in revenue collection to meet the target amount.

 “Let the executive department look for fund sources. I know it’s a very big challenge but we are doing what we ought to do,” Rama told reporters yesterday.

 With “best practices, synergy and integration of ideas,” the “desires and wants” of the city and its constituents will be properly attended to next year and the coming years, he said. 

 The executive department has increased the budget allocation of most departments, special bodies, projects and programs, seeing the insufficiency of appropriations this year.

The city’s annual budget for 2014 was P5.9 billion.

Fifty million is being proposed to fund the anti-illegal drugs campaign, which got P900,000 this year. Meanwhile, P515,000 is being proposed for the  City River Management Program, which got P42,420 this year.

 Since there was no allocation for continuing education this year, the executive department has proposed P1.5 million. In 2013, only P37,000 was allocated.

Several programs and projects that were not allocated budgets in 2013 and 2014 have been proposed for funding. These include City Local Economic Enterprise and Investment Management Board (P775,000); Anti-Mendicancy Board (P8.8 million); Sister City Commission (P1.1 million); Anti-Discrimination Commission (P750,000); City Investment Assistance (P750,000); Land Management Office (P800,000); Colon Revitalization Project (P15 million); Self-help projects (P20 million); Barangay Empowerment Program (P4 million); Various Executive-Legislative Agenda Projects (P20 million); Miscellaneous services for indigenous communities (P500,000); Call Center Training Program (P3 million); Teacher’s Assistance Program (P55 million); lot acquisition of 93-1 province-owned properties (P400 million); land acquisition for school sites (P50 million); construction of classrooms (P500 million); and construction of city college buildings (P80 million).

 A new appropriation of P22.3 million is also being proposed under the City Planning and Development Office for the installation of barangay street names, boundary arcs, feasibility design and topography survey for road opening and design for road widening.

On the other hand, appropriation for the Peace and Order Program ballooned to P628.8 million from this year’s P106.9 million.

The amount includes budgets for the construction of a city police building (P50 million); improvement and rehabilitation of fire sub-station (P27 million) and Parian Fire Station (P20 million); and construction of a so-called “killhouse”, a two-story, close quarter combat facility with surveillance cameras amounting to P45 million.

 The mayor’s office has a total appropriation of P7.4 billion while the City Council is being appropriated with P90.1 million.

Others offices got P23.9 million (City Assessor), P9.6 million (Building Officials), P276 million (City Health Department), P732.9 million (Department of Public Services), P894 million (non-office), P40,4 million (City Agriculture), P20.2 million (Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries), P5 billion (Department of Engineering and Public Works), P3.5 billion (Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund). – (FREEMAN)