Former Makati City mayor Romulo Peña Jr. on Friday hit “individuals spreading lies” in the city’s 33 barangays that “he was a leader who spent the taxpayers’ money unscrupulously” during his stint.
During his 11-month administration in place of dismissed mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay, Pena said fiscal discipline “was strictly observed by the Bagong Makati leadership.”
Citing a report from the city budget office, the Makati government expended only P684.8 million of the total P4.83-billion budget allocated for the period January to June 2016, Peña said in a statement.
The figure, Peña said, represents “merely 14.17 percent of expenditures of the total appropriations for the first half of the year.” The bulk of the unexpended budget was passed on to the incoming administration of current Mayor Abby Binay, which means that P4.145 billion “or 85.83 percent of the allotment remained in the city’s coffers,” he added.
“During our last six months, we have put in place the much-needed reforms intended to curb corruption and safeguard the city’s resources against abuse and misuse,” Peña said. “We had sustained the transparent bidding process to ensure that our constituents and all target beneficiaries receive the best quality of services we can afford.”
Peña, who lost his reelection bid to Abby Binay last May, also highlighted “the remarkable increase in the revenue collection of the city from business and realty taxes,” which he said was “a clear indication of the confidence of the business sector during his time.”
Makati had collected nearly P10 billion in revenue as of June 30, 2016, which is equivalent to 78 percent of the city’s P12.9-billion estimated income for 2016, noted Peña, who stepped down from office on June 30, 2016.
“If the city’s resources are used properly and prudently, we could deliver more and better services to a greater number of beneficiaries,” he added.
There was a “sustained upward trend in the city’s total revenue collections” since his administration took over in July 2015, Peña said. He attributed it to “the initiatives undertaken to improve the efficiency of frontline offices, particularly the offices dealing with the business community.”
Under his leadership, Peña said the local government unit “not only continued the city’s famous social programs, but also enhanced and expanded them further so that more services could be provided for the residents.”
Despite its fiscal discipline, Peña said the Makati government “acquired a ladder fire truck, which is considered the highest in the country for its capability to respond to high rise buildings; 10 modern ambulances to enhance its health care for the elderly; and a deployable command center for disaster mitigation.”
“Our senior citizens celebrating their birthdays during that time enjoyed tastier cakes with more variety of flavors, but at lesser cost to the city government, thanks to a very transparent and fair bidding process,” Peña said.
The city’s elderly also enjoyed personalized medical care through house-to-house visits conducted by doctors from the Makati Health Department, and free delivery of vitamins and medicines to their homes to ease their burden of lining in wait at designated pharmacy outlets, he added.
Peña said through his efforts, “the previous half-month supply of free maintenance medicines was extended to an entire month to ensure continuous medication of senior citizens.”
A help desk at the Ospital ng Makati was also set up to address the needs of patients and their relatives, he added. It was aimed at making services at the hospital “faster and more efficient.”
“All these were part of the efforts of the city to make sure that the residents of Bagong Makati receive sufficient and prompt services,” Peña said.
Currently, being a private citizen “does not hamper my desire to help the underprivileged in Makati,” said Peña, noting he has two vans continuously roving the city to deliver help for the needy.