The legal officer of the Makati City government on Friday asked members of the opposition in the City Council to come clean about their motives in delaying the approval of the 2019 city budget, saying these councilors failed to perform oversight function during the term of former mayor Junjun Binay.
Michael Camiña, also the spokesperson of Mayor Abigail Binay, said the opposition councilors who made up the majority in the City Council were not consistent in performing their oversight function, and invoked it only now to suit political ends.
“If they had been as zealous in exercising their oversight function during the term of mayor Junjun Binay, he would not be facing charges today. They did a great disservice to the former mayor,” Camiña said.
The 12 members of the majority bloc are allied with mayor Junjun, who vacated his post in July 2015 after the Office of the Ombudsman ordered his ouster in connection with the alleged irregularities in the construction of Makati Science High School.
Junjun Binay is running against his sister incumbent Mayor Abigail in the midterm elections this May.
Camiña rejected the claims made by Majority Floor Leader Councilor Nemesio Yabut, Jr. that the city´s executive branch was holding hostage the fourth tranche of salary increases under the Salary Standardization Law, which he said can be implemented under a reenacted budget.
“The argument of the Majority Floor Leader is wrong. It is clearly the majority of the Sanggunian that is holding hostage the increased salaries of the employees of city hall. It is a basic principle that ‘No money shall be paid out of the local treasury except in pursuance of an appropriations ordinance or law,’ as expressly stated in Section 304.a of the Local Government Code of 1991,” Camiña said.
He said considering that the new rates prescribed by the national government for salaries of government workers were contained in the proposed 2019 budget of the executive, the executive had no choice but to retain the 2018 rates in its budget.
“They ought to know that unlike previous administrations, the new administration follows proper procedures despite the increased difficulty in its day to day operations,” Camiña stated.
Camiña also pointed out some serious consequences as the majority of the Sanggunian continued to hold the 2019 budget hostage.
“The intended improvements in the services of the Ospital ng Makati have been hampered because the hospital cannot hire the doctors it had trained in 2018. Likewise, preparations for the elections are also being derailed as the city and Comelec will only have limited funds available for training as opposed to what was envisioned in the 2019 budget,” he said.
“Clearly, the acts of the majority of the Sanggunian are doing a disservice to the hard working employees of the city and to Makatizens,” Camiña said.
Meanwhile, Minority Floor Leader Councilor Maria Concepcion Yabut said that politics, and not oversight function, was the underlying reason for the inordinate delay in the budget approval.
“If we are to go by the track record of the Sanggunian in the past two years, it would clearly show that it did not take the Council this long to approve the budget. The only difference now is that they are on the other side of the political fence,” she said.
Records show that the City Council calendared the 2017 budget on Nov. 23, 2016, and approved it on Dec. 22, 2016. The 2018 budget was approved even faster, from its first reading on Nov. 8, 2017, it was approved on Nov. 17, 2017.
She said her colleagues in the opposition have had more than enough time to perform their oversight functions, and they cannot rightfully claim they are being forced to pass the budget.
“As early as July, the members of the City Council including the majority bloc were already present at pre-budget hearings. Marathon budget hearings with the different offices and departments of the city government were also conducted by the committees concerned right up to the start of the holidays, from November 12 to December 19,” she said.
“The majority councilors have, in fact, pored over every detail of the proposed budget. Ironically, they have yet to come up with a committee report on the results of their very thorough review,” she added.
Under Section 323 of the Local Government Code of 1991, in case the Sanggunian fails to pass the ordinance authorizing the annual appropriations at the beginning of the ensuing fiscal year, it shall continue to hold sessions, without additional remuneration for its members, until such ordinance is approved, and no other business may be taken up during such sessions.
If the Sanggunian still fails to enact such ordinance after ninety (90) days from the beginning of the fiscal year, the ordinance authorizing the appropriations of the preceding year shall be deemed reenacted and shall remain in force and effect until the ordinance authorizing the proposed appropriations is passed by the Sanggunian.
Moreover, only the annual appropriations for salaries and wages of existing positions, statutory and contractual obligations, and essential operating expenses authorized in the annual and supplemental budgets for the preceding year shall be deemed reenacted, and disbursement of funds shall be in accordance therewith.