CALAPAN CITY—Mayor Arnan Panaligan has expressed his frustration with officials of the Sangguniang Panlungsod here for their dismal failure to pass the 2016 budget because of partisan politics.
The intentional inaction of the city board to pass Calapan City’s P690-million 2016 annual budget “adversely affects the delivery of vital services, such as health care, social welfare assistance, rehabilitation assistance to victims of Typhoon Nona, and other basic services,” the mayor said.
Panaligan blamed Vice Mayor Voltaire B. Brucal, SP presiding officer, for being engaged in political partisanship and electioneering since the Sangguniang Panlungsod is “controlled by the administration Liberal Party.”
“Also, the much-needed repairs of protection dikes damaged or destroyed by Typhoon Nona cannot be undertaken because of the SP’s blatant inaction,” Panaligan added.
Mayor Panaligan chided Brucal for being partisan at the expense of public welfare. “The Sangguniang Panlungsod should not sacrifice the welfare and safety of the people and the basic services they must receive.”
Also affected by the non-passing of the city budget is the implementation of Executive Order No. 201 or the Salary Standardization Law recently approved by the Office of the President to raise the salaries of local and national government employees.
City residents here have criticized the “gross incompetence” of Brucal and SP members for their intentional failure to deliver basic services by passing 2016 P690-million annual city budget.
Reports said that the SP has resorted to blackmailing the city government by demanding an increase of P75 million from its usual annual budget of only P25 million.
“This big jump in the SP’s annual budget is tantamount to the combined budgets of two small municipalities of Oriental Mindoro,” Panaligan explained as he turned down the city board’s undeserved demand. “It’s not SP’s legislative functions to distribute financial grants,” he said.
Mayor Panaligan also expressed fears that the onset of the rainy and the typhoon seasons in the coming months may further aggravate the existing problems on irrigation facilities and protection dikes destroyed by Typhoon “Nona.”
