P635M Supplemental Budget 1 hearing set

CEBU, Philippines — A budget hearing to determine the source of funds for the P635 million Supplemental Budget 1 (SB 1) will be conducted this week, raising the possibility that its approval may be discussed next month before the Cebu City Council.

According to Councilor Noel Wenceslao, Chairman of the Committee on Budget and Finance, the budget hearing is scheduled for Friday to discuss SB 1. In an interview yesterday, Wenceslao explained that after the budget hearing, he will render a committee report, which will include their recommendations.

Due to the required stages, Wenceslao mentioned that the discussion of SB 1 cannot be included in this week’s regular session and will instead be tackled in the following week's session. He clarified that the budget hearing is a standard protocol when a budget ordinance is being proposed for approval before the council.

Wenceslao emphasized the importance of the budget hearing to identify the source of funds for SB 1, which will be presented by the Local Finance Committee (LFC).

"Ug giunsa nila pag come up ang source of funds," Wenceslao said.

He further explained that the budget hearing will serve as a platform to hear the justifications from each department whose proposals are included in the items of SB 1. As chairman, Wenceslao has already conducted a review of the items in SB 1; thus, the budget hearing is necessary to justify each proposal.

“Tan-awon sad namo ang source of funds, if the source of funds is sakto ba, feasible ba sa konseho, di ba ta magka problema, sa atong source of funds, naa bay gyud sakto nga pundo ang kwarta, then that is very important to tackle,” Wenceslao added.

He further stated that they will assess the necessity of the proposed items for each department. Initially, Wenceslao indicated that he may need to take a closer look at the computation of Personal Services (PS), which includes the Charter Day bonuses for Cebu City Hall employees. This comes after the council increased the proposed bonuses from P25,000 to P35,000.

Additionally, Wenceslao mentioned that they need to review the proposed funds for the Livelihood Programs, road asphalting, and the construction of the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC).

“Need namong i-hear sa budget hearing on why it is necessary for them nga ilang gi-include SB 1,” Wenceslao said.

The proposed P635 million SB 1 includes the Charter Day bonuses for casual and regular employees, initially proposed at P25,000 but now increased to P35,000, while Job Order (JO) employees would receive P5,000.

The proposal also includes an additional allocation of P140 million for road repairs through asphalting.

The third item in SB 1 is the continuation of the construction of CCMC, with P210 million allocated.

According to Cebu City Mayor Raymond Garcia, this amount will be used to complete the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors, which were initially intended to be funded by a donation drive organized through the Cebu Medical Society (CMS).

Another budget item included in SB 1 is the additional sum to support the distribution of livelihood programs. Mayor Garcia assessed that many small-scale vendors still need seed capital for their businesses.

He added that he was inspired by the success of the Sinulog 2025 event, where vendors

were given a platform to earn income without interference from security forces. — (FREEMAN)