Calasiao, Mangaldan Mayors Are Better Than the One in Dagupan

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

Why these two first class town mayors Kevin Roy Macanlalay of Calasiao and Bona Fe D. Parayno of Mangaldan are cut above Mayor Belen T. Fernandez of Dagupan City?

The duo despite facing a majority number of opposition’s lawmakers, still got their annual budget while Mayor Fernandez is convulsing while still groping in the dark how to solve her problem after the majority Dads in the lawmaking body slashed by P435 million her appropriation of P1.3 billion this year.

CHIEF EXECUTIVES. From left photo to clockwise: Beleaguered Dagupan City Mayor Belen T. Fernandez, Calasiao Mayor Kevin Roy Q. Macanlalay and Mangaldan Mayor Bona Fe D. Parayno.

 Mangaldan and Calasiao, that shared a boundary with Dagupan, burgeoned because of the limited swath of land for commerce in the city that force businessmen like Robinsons Mall and S&R to put shop there. They have a budget this year of more or less P450 million (Mangaldan) and P380 million (Calasiao), respectively.

Dagupan City did not get its 2023 P1.3 billion appropriations from the Sangguniang Panlungsod (legislative body) because Fernandez was bullheaded not to show all the names of the 1,900 job order employees (JOEs), barangay health workers and others to the critical opposition majority. These Dads suspect that the Mayor hide something about these workers thus they used their Power of the Purse. Notwithstanding the statute that mandates Fernandez: “The City Mayor...provide such information and data needed or requested by said sanggunian in the performance of its legislative functions” (Section 455 parag IV of the Local Government Code (LGC) of the Philippines).

The almost 200, 000 population Dagupenos are deprived of new infrastructures and social services this year after she vetoed the watered down P864.9 budget. Since the lawmakers did not act for the veto, the second class city operated in the reenacted 2022 budget as mandated by the LGC.

Despite the P1.380 billion last year’s budget, it has limitation: the law says a reenacted budget bars the Chief Executive to appropriate the hundreds of millions of pesos of the 20 percent development fund for the construction of buildings, canals to mitigate the perennial flooding to a city dubbed as Dagupond, medicines for the poor, financial aids and other. It stops her also to request for a supplemental budget in the lawmaking body, no creation of positions, new increase of salaries of the personnel and whatchamacallit.

If Fernandez would not give the names and the corresponding salaries of the JOEs and other workers (why the big fuss in not giving em’!? - Author) in the next budget hearing for the 2024 appropriation, this city goes to the dogs until her term ends on June 31, 2025.

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If the Dagupan City mayor is polarized with the majority of the lawmakers, why Mayors Macanlalay and Parayno – snagged with the same opposition’s majority - still get the budget they wish and even spiced it with series of multi- millions of pesos’ supplemental appropriation?

MAYOR KEVIN ROY MACANLALAY

The young Mayor Macanlalay credited his constant consultations with the six opposition lawmakers and their vice mayor after they won their mandate in the May 9, 2022 election.

 “Tatawagin ko sila dito lalatagan ko sila ng plano. O tapos mag-uusap sila tapos ini-invite nila ako minsan dini-discuss namin iyong sinabi ko. “Mayor, puweding bang ganito?” “Dito na lang natin gawin ilagay ganyan ganyan” o “baka puwede na e priority natin itong project na ito parang ganoon”” Mayor Macanlalay told me in an interview held at his office.

The consultation by the Hizzoner (play of words of “his honor”) with the majority lawmakers is held regularly when the former asked their ideas.

“Hindi naman nakakasama may idea sila o sige ganoon”.

MAYOR BONA FE PARAYNO

Here’s Mayor Bona in my recent interview with her last Wednesday while we waited for Vice President Sara Duterte to grace the graduation of the public senior high school in her thriving town.

She is already for the third supplemental budget this year. She respectfully asked the solons to fund her budget against Corona Virus Disease – 19 (Covid-19) that has made a comeback.

She and Planning and Development Coordinator Mila Padilla - my co Professor then at the Lyceum Northwestern University in the 1990s – could not give the exact amount as it is still being prepared. But the Mayora quipped her rough estimate to me: “Most likely sabihin mo na lang na P5 million”.

Mayor Bona lauded the SB for their understanding on her financial needs to run the LGU.

“Kasi hindi puweding di nila alam iyan kasi sila rin binoto ng mga tao. And if sa iyo this is needed of course ako din dahil ako ang Executive ako ang nagpapalakad ng lahat alam ko kung ano ang mga kulang,” she stressed to me.

In my conversations with the duo, I did not see any identities of the JOEs and other workers being concealed before the members of the Sangguniang Bayan who vote for the budget. This stubborn nondisclosure of the names of these workers caused Dagupan City Mayor Fernandez to pay a heavy price at the expense of the welfare of her constituents.

READ MY OTHER BLOG:

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MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

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I am a twenty years seasoned Op-Ed Political Writer in various newspapers and Blogger exposing government corruptions, public officials idiocy and hypocrisies, and analyzing local and international issues. I have a master’s degree in Public Administration and professional government eligibility. I taught for a decade Political Science and Economics in universities in Metro Manila and cities of Urdaneta, Pangasinan and Dagupan. Follow me on Twitter @totoMortz or email me at totomortz@yahoo.com.