At least two opposition members of the Cebu City Council cried foul over the plan of Mayor Edgardo Labella to realign the rice assistance intended for the thousands of habal-habal or motorcycle-for-hire drivers in the city.
For councilors Nestor Archival and Lea Japson, the executive department is courting a charge of technical malversation because Labella’s move is tantamount to illegal use of public funds since the rice has been bought solely for motorcycle-for-hire drivers.
Labella wanted to divert the rice assistance – which the administration of former mayor Tomas Osmeña started distributing to the city’s motorcycle-for-hire drivers – to policemen and fire victims.
Although Archival said the opposition councilors do not object to the move appropriating rice assistance for the police and fire survivors, such should not come from the provision intended for habal-habal drivers.
“I’m not objecting. The idea here is that if these sacks of rice intended for a project for a certain appropriation, if we are going to give it to another project which is not supposed to be in that certain activity, we might have a technical malversation,” Archival said.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with the move of Labella realigning habal-habal drivers’ rice assistance as there are other sectors that need more urgent help. However, the executive department should execute it in the proper way like pushing for a council resolution authorizing the mayor for such a purpose.
Labella’s move is understandable. It seems that he does not want to continue the rice provision considering that those recipients are not really part of those who are presently marginalized – like fire victims – who need immediate help from the local government.
In fact, many have construed the previous administration’s move of giving rice assistance in the months leading to the May 13 elections as nothing but a mere political ploy to attract votes from the thousands of habal-habal drivers in the city.