Celino asks for supplemental budget
ROXAS CITY – Mayor Angel Alan Celino has asked the Sangguniang Panlungsod to pass a supplemental budget to fund the operations of the city government.
Celino, who spoke before the city council on Tuesday’s first session, said the city government is already exhausted of funds for gasoline, office supplies, and other needs while the remaining fund for the 96 casual workers’ salaries up to December is only P1.3 million.
The mayor also said an audit team from Manila will look into the city government’s coffers.
Earlier, Celino said he will sue former Mayor Vicente Bermejo along with three department heads for initiating the alleged illegal transfer of some P20 million from the city’s General Fund to the 20 percent Internal Revenue Allotment fund.
“Bermejo, the budget officer, accountant and treasurer are liable for juggling of funds,” Celino said.
The mayor said it is not clear to him how much fund is left to run his administration, but he assured the public that financial problem could not deter his vision for the city.
Celino said he found that P50 million was obligated to the 20 percent IRA fund, which initially has P30 million, “(which) means that some P20 million was transferred from the general funds to IRA.”
Celino brushed aside Bermejo’s claim that he is leaving the city government with P300 million in its coffers.
“I don’t’ believe his statement… probably he left the said amount because he cannot bring it out,” Celino said in a radio interview in reaction to Bermejo’s statement last week.
Bermejo earlier said that he will turn over the city government to Celino better than when he first assumed office, after former Mayor Antonio del Rosario.
The former mayor said he will leave the city government with some P300 million in its coffers in which P149 million was deposited in the bank, P153 million from the IRA, P7.5 million from unappropriated savings from personnel services, and P17 million from calamity fund.
