SP to push for higher police, traffic, jail budgets
Next year, the Iloilo City Police Office, Traffic Management and Engineering Unit, Iloilo City Jail in General Luna, City Proper and City District Jail in Ungka, Jaro will be having higher budget allocations courtesy of the Sangguniang Panglungsod.
City Councilor Eduardo Peñaredondo said this is to augment their gasoline needs, meager food allowance, uniforms and allowances.
Peñaredondo said, in the budget hearings they have found out that such problems have been experienced by said city government offices for quite some time.
In case of the Iloilo City Police Office, each police precinct is only receiving 33 liters of gasoline every month. The city has its counterpart too but Peñaredondo failed to give the exact amount of gasoline given to each police station since it is Francis Te, of the mayors office who allocates the gasoline to them.
Peñaredondo added that the gas allocation for each police precinct is not enough to maintain police visibility. There are big police stations that have four vehicles and the gas allocation could not cover the entire period for which the allocation is appropriated.
The problem on gas allocation could be addressed since 50 percent of the income of the police clearance will go to the Iloilo City Police Office, said Peñaredondo.
Worst problem was seen at the Iloilo City District Jail in Ungka. Currently, the appropriation for the three full meals of the inmates is only pegged at P5. They have only a budget of P500,000 for the entire year.
Peñaredondo said the district jail is asking for additional budget of P720,000. The district jail is hoping to give a daily meal allowance of P60 for every inmate.
At the Iloilo City Detention Cell which houses women and children, they have a van to carry the inmates from the cell to the Iloilo Hall of Justice. However, they have no budget for gasoline.
The families of the inmates are required to pay for the gasoline to bring the inmates to court during hearings, said Peñaredondo.
On traffic aides, the city government only gives one pair of uniform every year. There are 259 traffic aides in the city. They have to wear their worn-out uniforms whenever they are caught by rain.
The traffic aides, through their chair Roque Tancinco, are also asking for additional pay from P4,500 to P5,000.Other than their personal concerns, they are also asking for an impounding area at the Iloilo City Police Office to keep the 'trisikads' they have confiscated. Traffic aides are sometimes blamed for lost 'trisikads.'
There are also 17 civilian casual employees from the Iloilo City Police Office, Iloilo City Fire Department and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology who wants to receive allowance from the city government. Under the law, civilian employees of national government agencies but are detailed in the city’s offices are not entitled to receive allowance from the city government. They could perhaps only receive an honorarium from the city, he said.