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28 April 2010

Marathon hearings for the 2011 Executive Budget commenced August 11 with the end in view of finalizing the proposal for submission to the City Council in due time.

Mayor Celso Lobregat presided over the hearing together with the Finance Committee concentrating on the requirements for maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) of the different national high schools located in the city.

Public schools, though they are under the Department of Education (DEPED), get assistance from the city government in the form of school buildings and other education-related projects including allowances for public school teachers.

While it is the mandated duty of the national government through the DEPED to fund all requirements for public schools, the Lobregat administration has taken the cudgels of constructing schools buildings and other infrastructures in a bid to improve quality of education.

From 2007 to the end of 2009, the city invested over P600 million for education related programs such as school buildings.

The city government has the Special Education Fund (SEF) which is used to assist the DEPED in their programs specially hiring of Local School Board teachers, participation in division, regional and national meets and other school building project.

“We assist the national high schools in terms of MOOE and the school building project because we consider education as part of our priority projects”, the mayor declared.

On August 12, the technical budget hearing continued and focus of the discussion was the proposed budgets for the different city departments and the Regional Trial Court and Municipal Trial Court branches, Shari’a District Court and Office of the City Prosecutor. The hearings were held at the City Hall conference room.

 The budget hearings will continue until all departments under the city government including the barangay councils shall have finished defending their proposals.

The city’s executive budget for 2010 consists of some P1.907 billion and next year’s budget is expected to reach over P2 billion, the highest ever in the history of Zamboanga. (Sheila Covarrubias)