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Bacolod City, Philippines Thursday, October 18, 2012
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Ko questions budget
for SP members
BY GILBERT BAYORAN

Negros Occidental Board Member Manuel Frederick Ko yesterday questioned the insertion of the P800,000 budget for travelling expenses as well as repair and maintenance of motor vehicles assigned to him and his colleagues in the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, in the revised 2012 supplemental budget number 5.

Ko, a member of the SP Committee on Finance and Appropriations chaired by Board Member Salvador Escalante, said he was puzzled by the insertion of the P800,000 budget, although nobody requested for it.

So, why put it in the proposed supplemental budget? he asked his colleagues, including Vice Governor Genaro Alvarez Jr., who was presiding over the SP regular session yesterday.

Escalante said it was presented and suggested by the SP secretary during a committee hearing, that was also attended by Provincial Budget Officer Jose Percival Salado, and Provincial Administrator Enrique Pinongan. Ko was absent during the committee hearing, before the SP regular session.

SP secretary Babette Quevenco-Zaini, in response to the query of Ko, admitted that it was presented during the committee hearing, in response to the request of board members who cited lack of funds for their travel expenses, and maintenance of vehicles, issued to them by the provincial government.

The proposed supplemental budget number 5, with the an original amount of P58,145,542 was reduced to P39,945,542.62, after some of the items, including the P17.6 million Provincial Irrigation Development Program of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist for 2011, and P1.9 million for European Union project implemented by the Provincial Environment Management Office, had been erroneously included, Salado said.

During the committee hearing, Salado said the P19.5 million was removed from the proposed supplemental budget, which led to the submission of the revised supplemental budget of P39,945,542.62 to the SP.

The original supplemental budget number 5, however, had already been approved on first reading by the SP in previous weeks.

The move of Escalante to elevate it to second reading during the SP regular session, elicited questions from Ko who asked why it will be moved to second reading, since the amount varies.

After the series of caucuses and a recess during the SP regular session, Escalante moved for the passage of the revised supplemental budget on first reading, which was concurred in by the SP.

Escalante said the Finance and Appropriations committee will hold another hearing to deliberate on the insertion of the P800,000 and the P19.5 million, that was slashed from the revised supplemental budget.

The SP approved the supplemental budget number 4 of the Economic Enterprise Development Department of the provincial government in the amount of P7,481,958, on second reading.

The proposed P2 billion budget of the provincial government of Negros Occidental for 2013, was referred by the SP to the committee of Escalante for deliberation.* GPB

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