Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. yesterday blamed on politics the delay of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan  approval of the additional budget for the Negros First CyberCenter (NFC) and other budgetary needs to complete provincial government projects.

It is the people of Negros Occidental that will ultimately suffer from this, he said.

The delay in the completion of the NFC will also delay the creation of 6,000 jobs at the facility for Negrenses, who would stand to earn P1 billion annually, he said.

Vice Governor Genaro Alvarez Jr. had said earlier that he will turn a portion of the NFC into a dormitory that could provide free space for out-of-town students, and allow the Negros Occidental Teachers Federation to again occupy the building.

It is easy to make impractical promises, Marañon said.

The NOTF is now constructing its own building in Barangay 39 where the provincial government gave the teachers’ property, he said.

The governor also said the NFC cannot be used for a dormitory because it is designed and fitted with electrical wirings for information technology work.

When the classrooms being built by the provincial government for the Negros Occidental High School are completed, it will no longer be necessary for the school to hold classes at the first floor of the Paglaum Sports Stadium that can then be converted into the dormitory, he added.

NOHS needs 61 classrooms and the provincial government has helped them with 30, he said.

The governor said the NFC cannot be completed if the funds for the second phase are not released.

The first phase of the building will be completed soon because the foundation is already up, Marañon said.

It is up to the conscience of the SP members to act on the budget for the second phase, they knew there was going to be a phase two, but they did not complain before, until politics entered the picture, he said.

He said the second phase loan needs to be approved by the SP now because it will take several months to process its release, he added.

Delay in the second phase fund for the NFC and other budgetary needs of the province is not a threat to me, it is a threat to the people of Negros, the governor said.

If the NFC is delayed, those who will suffer will be its future employees. Even a small child would understand that politics is causing the delay, he added.

The governor said the funds for the last phase, or 25 percent of the 100 percent salary increase of the provincial government employees, is contained in the 2013 budget of the provincial government that is also pending before the SP.

If that is not approved, we will be unable to give the pay increases, he said.

Meanwhile, Alvarez, who is running for governor against Marañon next year, said there is no politics in their act of scrutinizing budgetary allocations of the province to protect the interest of the people of Negros Occidental.

He said the second phase budget of the NFC does not need to be sought until the first phase is completed to save the provincial government from paying unnecessary interest.*CPG

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