Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte on Wednesday assured the public that the city’s P5.18-billion supplemental budget, which would fund various infrastructure, maintenance, and operating expenses, and other expenditures for this year was reviewed extensively by the city council.
“In the past, the supplementary budget is just a matter of course that is passed, but this time, we want to make sure that all the documentation is in place, the paperwork has been studied, and the project has been scrutinized,” Belmonte said.
Under Ordinance No. 20CC-408, the billion-peso fund was appropriated from the city government’s savings from the previous year.
The amount, the council said, shall be used to complete equipment requirements in public high schools, energy-efficient street-lighting, solid waste management system, legislative sector support services, and city-paid faculty allowances.
The largest portion of the budget is set to go to infrastructure, with P3.7 billion allocated for hospitals and health centers, power-related public infrastructure, and other buildings.
A budget of P800 million is earmarked for the redevelopment of the Amoranto Memorial Sports Complex in preparation for the country hosting the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
As the council’s presiding officer, Belmonte thanked the 37-member city council for their cooperation in the study.
“That’s a lot of money. That’s the budget of many cities already, and here [in Quezon City], that’s just a supplemental budget,” she said.