Bacolod Councilor Victor Espino yesterday said he is optimistic that the Sangguniang Panlungsod will approve the P1.230 billion 2013 budget of the city before December 31.

Espino, SP chairman of the Committee on Finance, said they will conduct  marathon hearings on the proposed  budget this month. He also said he will come up with a schedule within the week and will invite the department heads to defend their respective budgets.

Espino said one of the major concerns they have over the new budget is the unfilled positions of employees who have resigned, and others have retired, while  casual plantilla employees are being used as stop gap.

But plantilla casuals do not have any liability and are sometimes hesitant to hold new responsibilities in their offices, he said.

He added that will lobby for a provision that these unfilled positions will be funded and filled up, Espino said. They are trying to make a run down on how many unfilled positions have been budgeted, he said.

The increase of P105 million in the new budget will fund the implementation of the last phase of the Salary Standardization law since Bacolod is one of the few cities in the Philippines to have complied with the giving of the last tranche for next year. This will increase the salary of plantilla casuals from P6,862.00 to P9,000, he said.

Espino said the city also has to focus on five key areas which are peace and order, traffic and providing assistance to the Bacolod City Police Office, garbage collection, basic infrastructure, like roads, and education.*CGS

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