With a push from the majority, the City Council has approved Manila’s proposed P14.88-billion budget for 2017, as councilors allied with Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada declared their full support for his allocations for priority programs and projects.
Voting 17-13 with four abstaining, councilors on Jan. 3 passed on third and final reading the Proposed Ordinance No. 7810 outlining the Executive Budget of Manila for 2017, a statement released by city hall said Friday.
City Council Majority Floor Leader Casimiro Sison of the sixth district said the councilors trust Estrada’s sound fiscal management.
Estrada proved this when he revived, in less than two years, the city’s financial health by paying the P5.5-billion debt left by the previous administration, Sison said.
“Considering that Mayor Estrada came in when the city was bankrupt, he was able to pay the debts, he was able to overcome the big deficit in the city, he showed good fiscal management,” Sison said.
Still, the council’s minority bloc questioned the slashed budgets of Manila’s hospitals amounting to more than P300 million.
Sison, however, said the minority should trust Estrada.
“Maybe, we should give him a chance to revise everything, to put this here or there, because his financial and executive team has studied this,” he added.
First district Councilor Ernesto Dionisio Sr., chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, said the budget underwent scrutiny to support the Office of the Mayor’s urgent programs, such as free maintenance medicines for senior citizens, new traffic alleviation projects, and street lighting.
“We support all these programs of the mayor. This is an honest-to-goodness public service, serving the basic needs of the people in the communities,” said Dionisio.
The Manila Health Department, Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau, and Manila Tricycle Regulatory Office received the highest budget increases for 2017.
The health department will receive P1.24 billion, up by P359 million, which came from the miscellaneous and other operating expenses or MOOE for drugs and medicines of the six city-run hospitals.
The 2017 budgets of MTPB and MTRO, increased to P265 million (up by P27.2 million) and P149.8 million (up P4.3 million), respectively.
The increased appropriations for the traffic and tricycle bureaus, transferred in bulk from the funds of the Department of Engineering and Public Works, are to be used for the reorganization of MTPB and the procurement of electric tricycles. These are among the traffic-related programs to be carried out by the executive department this year, the council explained.
Councilor Arlene Maile Atienza of the third district, who chairs the Committee on Health, also justified the increased budget of the MHD, including those of the 59 community health centers among the city’s 896 barangays.
Atienza, a doctor by profession, said she supports Estrada’s free maintenance drugs program for senior citizens. Under this program, the health centers in the barangays will distribute the medicines directly to the elderly.
“We are elated that health services were given additional funds. I believe that we should really address and prioritize preventive medicine, meaning before a patient’s illness gets serious, he or she should be treated first and given proper medical care in the community health centers,” she said.
“This way, we can prevent congestion in our public hospitals,” Atienza added. “If the health center cannot handle it, that’s the time we bring the patients to the hospitals so that there would be no crowding in the hospitals.”
Another majority member, fifth district Councilor Ricardo “Boy” Isip Jr., also supported Estrada’s electrification program, which includes the installation of new lamp posts along the city streets.
The city government has installed new lamp posts along 91.1 kilometers of streets worth over P100 million, with another P300 million being prepared for the next phase of the street lighting initiative in 2017.
“All the streets will be lighted up by Mayor Estrada, and this has greatly helped the communities, especially at nighttime,” said Isip, who chairs the City Council Committee on Engineering.