The slashing of the 2024 Moises Padilla budget, especially that of the Sangguniang Bayan (SB), on third and final reading is illegal as it violates their internal rules, Vice Mayor Ian Villaflor said on Thursday, February 8.
Villaflor said he questioned the Moises Padilla SB members’ move before the Negros Occidental Sangguniang Panlalawigan and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The DILG said the slashing of the budget on third and final reading is not allowed, while he is waiting for the Sangguniang Panlalawigan committee hearing resolution on the matter, Villaflor added.
Villaflor said the 2024 proposed budget of Moises Padilla was P197,494,794 that was approved on second reading on November 29.
However, on third and final reading on December 6 the SB members moved to slash the budget by P2,149,998, he said
Affected by the slash were the budgets of the Accounting, Budget and Treasurer’ offices but the worse hit was the SB, Villaflor said
The P1.3 million SB budget for salaries and wages and P200,000 for fuel were slashed to P1 each, he said.
The P850,000 for maintenance and other operating expenses was slashed to P250,000, of which P100,000 was set for SB session snacks and P150,000 for the Vice Mayor’s League fees, Villaflor added.
Villaflor said this came after he left the group of incumbent Mayor Ella Garcia Yulo.
The vice mayor did not confirm if he will run for Moises Padilla mayor in 2025.*