City Mayor Dan Lim suddenly became the “darling” of the 47-strong League of Municipalities, Bohol chapter, when it supported the city executive’s bid to allocate at least P1 million out of the 20% development fund of the provincial government. The city mayor announced the mayors’ league backing during his morning radio program yesterday over Station DYTR. In the program “Ang Mayor sa Dakbayan, Mayor Lim said a resolution asking for the towns’ shares of the 20% development fund was contained in a document approved by the LMP in a mass motion. The LMP resolution was passed on motion of Dimiao Mayor Sylvia Adame and approved en masse. Attested by LMP president Loay Mayor Rosemarie Lim-Imboy, the resolution said it was in cadence with the call of Gov. Chatto to improve the living conditions of the towns.

However, in a check with the lady mayor last night, she said a copy of the questioned document is yet to be submitted to Gov. Chatto. She cautioned that if any copy of the resolution was used for political ends, she will not hesitate to withdraw the same. With the latest twist in the city mayor’s call for a share of the towns in the province’s 20% development fund, this means the controversy over the interpretation and application of the money in question just refuses to die. The city mayor’s announcement of the LMP support was his reaction to Gov. Chatto’s earlier statement accusing him (Lim) of misleading the people on the issue. Speaking during the same radio program, Lim said he received a letter from the governor last Tuesday which had a lot to say about his opinion of the mayor but did not contain the most important information needed by the people. “According to Gov. Chatto, he has many projects in Tagbilaran. Maybe he has, only that we are not aware of it,” he said.

If it is true, the mayor said the people should be happy. “I will apologize for my suspicions,” he added. Lim, however, said he has a challenge for Chatto - to prove his allegation that the mayor is engaging in deception. “I ask him again: where are (his projects)?” he declared. The mayor disputed the governor’s interpretation on how the fund is going to be spent saying he has obtained a legal opinion from the Department of Interior and Local Government. Lim claims that according to the said legal opinion, the mayor of the city or the municipality can suggest the projects that he wants implemented in his city or municipality. He added that for this reason, he wrote the governor with the request for information on what kind of projects are being implemented from the said fund in the city. “While he said a lot, the message that was conveyed is that he will be the one to decide,” Lim added.

The mayor has accused the provincial government of depriving the city of its share in the funds since the term of former Gov. Rene Relampagos. Lim has accused the present administration of perpetuating the injustice and dared Chatto to name the projects funded by the provincial government in the city to prove that he is lying. It was during the same occasion that Lim revealed that the LMP, Bohol Chapter, has passed a resolution requesting Chatto to allocate at least P1 million out of the 20% development fund for the development of every town. The resolution, approved during the LMP meeting last Aug. 9 at the Bohol Tropics Resort, was sponsored by Mayor Adame and was approved unanimously. “This means that even the towns have not received their share of the fund,” the mayor added. Lim said Chatto was angered by his proposal to equitably distribute the funds so that there will be no so that no one will benefit unnecessarily. “According to our computations based on this proposal, each local government unit will receive more than P4 million if distributed equally,” the mayor added.