Dumaguete City Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria said  yesterday that he has  to allocate a zero budget for the promotion of culture and the arts in the city after the Commission on Audit restricted the use of such funds.

He said the  interpretation of COA  of certain rules and laws will force the LGU to realign the budget for other projects, to the detriment of programs  aimed at promoting and enriching culture and the arts in the city.

He said he is seeking the intervention of Department of Trade Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. so  the program will not be sacrificed.

Sagarbarria met recently with DOT regional director Rowena Montecillo and City Tourism Officer Woodrow Maquiling Jr., who heads the regional association of tourism officers in Region 7.

He  said he wants an answer from Jimenez, through Montecillo, before October 15, s the deadline for the submission of the  executive budget of the city.

If the local government unit cannot move due to restrictions, we might as well not put a single centavo for this purpose (art and culture promotion), and allocate the funds for other projects, Sagarbarria said.

Maquiling said there are a lot of culture and the arts projects in Dumaguete, with yearly allocations of P2 million only.

But due to disallowances, the CTO will have to forego the yearly activities, like the Dumaguete participation  in the Sinulog Festival of Cebu, Arts Month in February, Santacruzan, National Heritage Month, World Tourism, Buglasan Festival in October, Sandurot and fiesta activities, weekly Tayadasa Plaza, and the Barangay Cultural Tourism Fair.*JG

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