COA DECLARES: City amelioration subject to refund

REFUND may be farthest in the mind of City Mayor Dan Neri Lim when he allowed the release of amelioration benefits of P10T to more than 400 city hall employees. But the inevitable came and the city mayor is now confronted with the problem of paying the refund for the city hall windfall, which was pegged at around P6 million. This developed after the Commission on Audit (COA) thru lawyer Charlita Leopoldo ordered the city mayor to reimburse the amelioration benefits. The COA order also came when the Sangguniang Panlalawigan disapproved the money measure. The SP also turned down the otherwise kind gesture of the city government when the Provincial Budget Office (PBO) ruled out that the cash bonanza was void.

The PBO's decision was also based on the absence of an enabling legislation that authorizes the money's release in the first place. It may be recalled that the city passed supplemental budget No. 10, s 2005 allocating P6,232,860 for thee other benefits of city officials and employees and other necessary expenses. A certification of available funds was attached to the local budget preparation form of the supplemental ordinance. This however still needs a law before the city can use their available funds as additional personnel benefits. As the decision hit the air lanes and the refund angle cropped up, Mayor Lim intimated that he would take full responsibility of his act. He even hinted that he is willing to assume the financial burden instead of asking city hall employees to refund. It was gathered that only the Office of the President can overrule any refund directive by the COA. According to Leopoldo, if the mayor would assume responsibility of paying the refund instead of the recipient employees, then it is well within his right to do so.

STIR

The amelioration payment provoked a mild stir last week after the outspoken mayor castigated in his weekly radio program at least three provincial board members for doing nothing to approve a supplemental ordinance covering the amelioration benefits of city hall workers. The city mayor was backstopped by the entire city council leadership in having the cash bonanza covered by the necessary appropriation ordinance. The appropriations ordinance and city supplemental budget for the cash benefit however needed an enabling legislation. The beneficiaries of the mayor's acerbic tongue were Board Members Dionisio Balite, Jose Veloso and Felix Uy.

The two board members –Uy and Veloso got the mayor's ire after the city executive accused them of not lifting a finger to the first district of which Tagbilaran City belongs. The two kagawads represent the first district in the provincial board. In further developments, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan is set to take the issue up this Tuesday during the SP pre-conference, BM Felix Uy told the Post. Uy said he is going to remind the SP members however that the City request for reconsideration should be taken cautiously as the subject appropriation ordinance has been found to be ultra vires. he SP would also try reassign the review of the ordinance so that the another round of talks could be started immediately.

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