Cebu supplemental budget questioned

Outgoing Third District Provincial Board Member Jiembo Borgonia questioned on Thursday the proposal to pass a P1,226,620,213.08 worth of supplemental budget.

“I refuse to be part of a clear evident bad faith for the approval of this supplemental budget amounting to P1.2 billion in total as requested by outgoing Governor Gwen Garcia that shall clearly hamper the administration of Gov. Pam Baricuatro,” said Borgonia in an interview with media.

Garcia called on a special session of the outgoing Provincial Board on Wednesday but there was no quorum which was sponsored by Fifth District PB Member Michael Joseph Villamor and certified as urgent.

The supplemental budget includes funding for the offices of the vice governor and board members, citing depleted office resources six months into their term, according to Fifth District PB member Red Duterte.

Aside from Villamor and Duterte, other PB members who attended the special session included Sixth District PB member Glenn Anthony Soco, Fourth District PB member Kerrie Keane Shimura and Third District PB member Victoria Corominas-Toribio.

Outgoing Vice Governor Hilario Davide III, the presiding officer, called a five-minute recess as the board waited for more members to arrive.

However, Davide adjourned the session after it remained short of the required 10 members needed to constitute a quorum, said PB Secretary Pulchra Acevedo.

Absent PB members were Borgonia, Kathleen Daan and Raul Bacaltos (First District), Stanley Caminero and Raymond Joseph Calderon (Second District), Minuel Carmela Franco (Fourth District), Thadeo Jovito Ouano (Sixth District), Jerome Librando and Cesar Baricuatro (Seventh District), along with ex-officio members Ricardo Pepito (Philippine Councilors League), Celestino Martinez III (Association of Barangay Councils), and Loren Singco(Sangguniang Kabataan).

Soco said many members had filed leaves after the May elections.

“Well, it’s really difficult now because a lot of our colleagues are either out of town... Some are maybe taking a rest...Then some, like Board Baricuatro, is in Manila having medical checkup. So, we still have a few more sessions to go before we end the 16th Sangguniang Panlalawigan,” Soco said.