Override imminent in vetoed '08 Capitol budget
Expect an "override" on the vetoed budget of the Capitol with members of the 9th Iloilo Sanggunian Panlalawigan (SP) set to seal next week the budget's latest fate.
It would have been tomorrow, The News Today (TNT) gathered yet with the regular session canceled as previously agreed, any and all SP counter-veto actions will have to wait.
This, TNT gathered from Capitol insiders reached for update on the controversial 2008 Executive Budget.
To note, members of the SP body in a legislative action approved Committee on Appropriations recommendation for a major cut on the over P1 billion Executive Budget proposed by Governor Niel Tupas Sr.
The legislative slash reached over P139 million, the "savings" primarily to be felt by the Office of the Governor.
Summed up in nine major highlights, no less than Vice Governor Rolex Suplico, committee chair, then presented the revised and slashed version. The final amount placed this year's budget at P861,189,878,77.
First cut was explained as necessary "in order to streamline the plantilla of the Office of the Governor. As such, the committee called only for the Executive Assistant III as head of the Governor's Office while pushed to be deleted are the positions of Executive Assistant IV and Executive Assistant II.
If so, only the governor's daughter NieletteTupas-Balleza will be left while it would be goodbye for the governor's wife, Myrna as Executive Assistant IV, longtime pal Levy Buenavista as Executive Assistant II and two others on the same post.
"In addition, all appropriations for unfilled positions including the positions of the Provincial Administrator and Provincial Legal officer are hereby deleted," the committee recommendation went.
General Services appropriation was pegged at P10 million "the disbursements of which shall strictly comply with Section 77 of Republic Act No. 7160. The highest priority is hereby given to the hiring of doctors and allied medical professions in the district hospitals as well as personnel of the Bantay Dagat."
Training expenses, office supplies and materials were also particularly addressed with the corresponding notation. For 2008, appropriation for trainings of various Capitol offices shall be consolidated under the Human Resources and Management Office "subject to the special provisions under the HRMD."
While millions in office supplies and material expense "shall be consolidated under the General Services Offices and shall be bidded in bulk…"
Hospital chiefs most of whom were either reassigned or detailed to other offices were recommended to "be immediately returned to their respective district hospitals." The Iloilo Provincial Government maintains twelve district hospitals.
Yet another major change as proposed for this year with the appropriations for drugs and medicines and medical dental and laboratory supplies expenses. The SP Committee on Appropriations said that such "shall remain with the respective district hospitals but their procurements shall be consolidated with the Iloilo Provincial Health Office and shall be bidded out in bulk…
The recommendations came after the committee's deliberations where "in several instances, chiefs of offices or their representatives failed to appear despite due notice."
The absences were duly noted that further pushed the committee to highlight its observation.
"…the Committee learned later that the chiefs of hospitals were just in the Capitol building or in Iloilo City…"excerpts of the report went. "The Office of the Governor was represented by the Provincial Administrator whose appointment as such remained unconfirmed as of this time….Thus, nobody appeared to justify the budget of the Office of the Governor. Moreover, the Provincial Engineer had several excuses when invited to executive sessions giving the impression that he does not want to attend the said sessions."