MVF turns down reconsideration plea from council
Reiterating that the items he wants restored in the city government’s 2006 budget are important, Laoag City Mayor Michael V. Fariñas said he would not reconsider his veto on the portions of the city’s annual budget that had been slashed by the Sangguniang Panlungsod. Among the items Fariñas wants restored in the budget are the P1 million allocation for the sanitary landfill maintenance, the P350,000 for the city general services and the P400,000 for City Hall’s maintenance. Fariñas explained that these items are important for the city as these had been proposed with the goal of further improving the city government’s service to city residents. He stressed that P350,000 for the general services, which would be used to pay for the labor of city government projects, is only minimal and he said he sees no problem if it would be appropriated in the annual budget since this would no longer be problem once it would be needed. Fariñas also mentioned that he could not understand why the city council has not appropriated any amount for the maintenance of the landfill when this facility had been in the center of controversies in the past due to lack of maintenance. However, Fariñas admitted that he has not yet received a copy of the council’s resolution asking him to reconsider his veto on the said items in the budget but he emphasized that he would stick to his earlier decision to veto portions of the said ordinance. “Saan ko kuman nga in-veto dagitoy nga items no saan nga importante ken pagsayaatan iti bukod tayo a siyudad (I would not have vetoed these items if they are not for the improvement and betterment of our own city),” Fariñas said. Meanwhile, Laoag City Vice Mayor Marlon Wayne D. Manuel, presiding officer of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, said it is Fariñas’ discretion to veto portions of the annual budget as he added that although he is in favor of the mayor’s veto he could not speak for the whole council. Earlier, Laoag City Councilor Vicentito M. Lazo explained that the proposed budget for the landfill’s maintenance had been scratched by the council in their belief that it is no longer needed as per the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) recommendation that all wastes dumped in the garbage facility should just immediately be covered with land. As for the City Hall maintenance budget, Lazo, who chairs the council’s finance committee, said the amount was appropriated under the city General Services Office (GSO) since it is in charge of the building’s maintenance. The P350,000 for general services, on the other hand, would be funded by the council if the need for it arises, Lazo added. Dominic B. dela Cruz
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