MALOLOS CITY—Not only are its coffers empty but a number of properties owned by the municipal government of Guiguinto in Bulacan are also missing.
To top it all, the municipal government has a budget deficit of at least P50 million and the current administration can hardly face its constituents seeking social services.
This situation is in addition to earlier report that key cities and provinces in the country are facing liquidity problems and debts left by former officials.
Lawyer Edilberto Cruz, the municipal administrator of Guiguinto, said yesterday that they have to suspend allocation for their capital outlay for the rest of the year.
This means that they will focus their budget allocation to employee’s salary, office supply and some for their social services.
He said that based on the report of the Commission on Audit (COA), the municipal government of Guiguinto has a P50.84-million cash overdraft in 2012.
But recent investigation of the new administration under Mayor Ambrosio Cruz discovered the budget deficit of the municipal government to have ballooned to P55 million as of July.
“Hiyang-hiya kami sa kababayan namin, dahil yung social services namin sa kanila ay hindi namin matutustusan ng husto,” he said.
Aside from the P55-million budget deficit, the municipal administrator said that a number of properties were missing, like chairs, tables and computers.
Cruz said the administration of former Mayor Isagani Pascual had a poor property management system noting that many of the supposed property of the municipal government have no memorandum receipt (MR).
To curb the problem, Cruz said the municipal government created the general services office that will manage properties.
With regards to expenses of the previous administration, he said that the municipal government has to pay about P2 million on mobile telephone expenses.
“I issued a memorandum that telephone expenses will be limited to the mayor, members of the sangguniang bayan and department heads,” he said and added that such expenses is only limited to P1,500 each.
Based on the copy of COA report for 2012, the municipal government of Guiguinto paid P1,952,255.23.
Cruz described the expenses as “mind boggling” and “shocking.”
