Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Monday, September 25, that he ordered all city government departments to ensure that suppliers are paid in 30 days from delivery of their goods so they will no longer need to raise their prices to factor in long delays.
The Bids and Awards Committee and the payment procedures were tackled in a meeting between Benitez and the department heads for the preparation of the city’s 2024 budget
The internal audit team of the city will see to the enforcement of the 30-day payment order of the mayor.
“Internal audit will review and streamline the payment process…30 days is more than enough time,” the mayor said.
“If we pay on time, we reduce the cost,” Benitez said, with suppliers no longer adding extra cost in anticipation of delayed payments.
Benitez said the procedure will also be made easier with the city government’s migration to a digital platform for a more efficient system.
Benitez said the city’s 2024 budget will be P3.6 billion, from P3.250 this year.
The social services and the health departments will be among those that will get the largest shares of the 2024 budget, he said.
It was a bottom up planning with each department made to defend their budgets, he said.
“It was a long process of deliberation and budget levelling off,” he said.
They hope to submit the proposed budget to the Sangguniang Panlungsod for review by the first week of October, he said.