By the Bohol Chronicle
Vice Mayor Jose Antonio Veloso led the minority bloc in demanding transparency amid an application for another P50 million loan despite figures showing in the disbursement of funds at the city government.
This consistent stand of the vice mayor on public accountability was stressed during last Friday's session of the Sangguniang Panlungsod when he demanded for the "complete accomplishment report" of the P50 million loan released last year by the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).
Veloso said his battle cry for transparency is an off-shot of the pending issues which revolve on the non-release of pertinent documents as he cited pending cases of Mayor Dan Lim before the Omdudsman, namely; malversation of funds (Case no. CPVL-090279), anti-graft case (Case no. CPLV-09-0294) while his two other cases pending involved an enviromental issue (CPLV-080943) and tax harrassment (OMB-VV-09-0166).
The vice mayor sustained the call issued by City kagawad Zenaido "Djingo" Rama for the detailed accomplishment report in order to show to the taxpayers on how the loan was spent on road improvement projects.
Rama was susprised to read a short summary of various road projects given them during the session by City kagawad Oscar Glovasa, chairman of the SP appropriations committee.
"Whoever reads the one-page enumaration of road projects can never say that it was an accomplishment report," Rama exclaimed, saying it was just a "simple listing of projects."
With a claimed expenditure of P49.9 million, the report should not be as simplified as what was given by Kagawad Glovasa, he stressed.
City kagawad Mariquit Oppus likewise joined her co-fiscalizers in insiting that the accomplishment report is a needed to document how the first P50 million was spent.
"We will never support the release of another P50 million if we will not be given a clear breakdown of how the first release was spent," Veloso stressed.
The statement of the vice mayor followed after Kagawad Glovasa, who is the city mayor's protegee to run for congressman, sought the passage of the resolution to support the release of another P50 million by the bank. In fact, the majority bloc kagawads identified with the city mayor wanted it treated as "special order of the day" during the previous session.
Kagawad Glovasa, surprised the minority bloc when he told his colleagues during last Friday's session they can get the program of work of the first P50 million funded road improvement projects from the city mayor.
When asked of the program of work, Kagawad Glovasa told the minority bloc they can get it from the office of the city mayor.
Kagawad Rama, during an interview said the statement of the mayor's ally shocked the minority bloc saying "program of work and other supporting documents should come from the concerned agencies such as the city engineering's office and not from the city mayor."
The majority bloc identified with the city mayor passed for the approval of the committee report which was objected by Kagawads Bebiano Inting, Rama and Oppus.
Veloso said while the committee report was approved last Friday, the move for the proposed resolution will still pass for second reading during the next session.
"The public is doubly vigilant on how manuevers are done by the majority bloc enjoying the tyranny of number at the city law making body," Veloso concluded.
WHY LOAN?
Kagawad Inting said he could not understand the fiscal management when an LGU has to avail of a loan when it has more than P100 million surplus. During last Friday's session, Inting questioned City Budget Officer Rose Palma on the non presentation of a "trial balance" since the yearend of 2008.
Palma mentioned of a possible surplus of P43 million which Inting said was an understatement covering 2007-2009. He noted that in the yearend 2007, a "cash-on-hand" of P280 million was recorded "It won't be justifiable to endorse another P50 million loan with DBP if the budget officer could not first present a trial balance to show how much is the actual surplus of the city government," the city lawmaker concluded.
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