Dagupan’s 2015 Budget Biggest among 4 Cities in Ilocos Region

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

Dagupan City

DAGUPAN CITY – If the members of this city’s council come to their senses by approving the proposed P691 million budgets, the sum would bring back this local government unit reputation as the top budgeted city in Region-1 for this year.
This observation ensued after the former topnotch budgeted Urdaneta City approved in December last year its 2015 annual appropriation by P512 million only.
According to Urdaneta City Mayor Amadeo Gregorio “Bobom” E. Perez IV his city has a budget of more than P600 million this year.
“P656 (million), I’m not sure parang mataas lang kami sa Dagupan City”

Urdaneta City

But Urdaneta City Administrator Ronald San Juan contradicted him by showing data that this entrepot city’s 2015 budget is only P512 million.
Major projects allocated for this year’s budget, according to San Juan, are infrastructures like farm to market roads, drainage, concreting of all the 34 villages of the city.
He said that this year's budget is 5% higher than last year’s annual appropriations.
He explained that the present appropriation is conservatively agreed. In case there would be a supplemental budget for the city needs, he stressed, it would happen in the last part of the year.
“Depende, kagaya niyan (2014 budget) hindi naman kami nag supplemental dahil hindi naman namin kailangan”.
Unlike this city that is facing a standstill among its lawmakers who are not in the mood to give their imprimatur to the much needed budget for Mayor Fernandez, the approval of Urdaneta City’s budget was a breeze according to City Councilor Peter Jason Agsalud.
“Wala naman kaming problems as we deliberated it last December”.
The Mayor Belen F. Fernandez's administration is now running under the 2014 P628 million reenacted budget.

The absence of the 2015 budget is blamed to the disagreement of Mayor Fernandez to heed the intention of most of the 11 members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod to appropriate P1.8 million as pork barrel for each of them.
Without the P691 million this city operational budget could prejudice the salaries of hundreds of its job order workers, the P10 million grant from the European Union for the establishment of a diagnostic center, construction of the P16 million evacuation center in Barangay Salapingao, to name a few