The incoming new administration of Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival maybe facing serious financial difficulties in terms of projects and personnel.

Archival told media yesterday that preliminary data from the transition team had been shared with him, but he had yet to receive a full and verified accounting of City Hall’s finances.

He cited that based on the initial figures presented to him, the city’s current cash position appeared “insufficient” to cover its basic operational requirements.

“Actually, there are preliminary inputs, but I would want that cleared before we can give a clear announcement.... However, from what I understand based on what we got, it is not enough to grant the entire operation, including the wages, even in the projects. It seemed that it is not efficient,” He stressed.

But he clarified that his assessment had been based solely on the city’s liquid assets, excluding real estate and other non-cash properties, which he said could not be used immediately to fund pressing needs.

“I did not include those, what I included was the cash available because that is difficult to use if the assets are sold,” he added.

Archival is awaiting a clearer report this week, but admitted that even this early stage, concerns over the city’s financial state were already surfacing, especially from suppliers and contractors who had not yet been paid.

“There are now many contractors and suppliers who had not yet been paid, who would often go to our offices,” he disclosed.

The incoming mayor also raised red flags over project funds that had already been partially disbursed but not fully paid.

Mentioning as an example, a P40-million contract, only P10 million had been released, leaving P30 million unfunded and possibly repurposed elsewhere.