CEBU CITY – This city has been placed under a state of disaster preparedness to prepare it for and make it response-ready for any calamity hitting it in the future.

Declaring the city by the Cebu City Council under a state of disaster preparedness would allow the use of its calamity fund for pre-and-post disaster activities and other programs, including the implementation of mitigating measures, training, capabilities building, and information campaign.

The city will also use said funds for stockpiling relief supplies and purchasing equipments and tools needed during disaster operations.

Councilor Gerardo Carillo, who authored the resolution, suggested the use of P10 million of the city’s over P100-million calamity fund for disaster-preparedness activities.

He also proposed the declaration of the Inayawan Sanitary Landfill, the city’s dump site, under a state of imminent danger because of the continuous spewing of methane gas and toxic liquids that pose health and environmental hazards.

Earlier, the City Council gave its nod to the P483.8-million 2nd supplementary budget (SB) that includes funding for senior citizens and other social welfare programs.

The City Council, however, will leave Mayor Tomas Osmeña to decide when the P78-million financial aid will be released to the elderly, as well as the P16 million for persons with disabilities (PWDs).

As for the P6-million allocation for the city’s burial assistance program, Councilor Jose Daluz III said they will immediately release the funds to village coordinators who will implement the program.

Daluz is Chairman of the Council’s Committee on Budget and Finance. City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said the city government will distribute the P4,000 cash assistance to some 32,000 senior citizens in February or March, before the Commission on Elections (Comelec)’s ban on certain expenditures takes effect.

All PWDs residing in the city will also get P2,000 financial aid each. Such aid, coursed through the Department of Social Welfare Services, is covered by the Comelec ban.

City Hall is also set to implement the 25 percent salary increase for all city officials, and regular and casual employees. The P98-million lump sum appropriation for the pay hike was included in SB No.2.

Identified fund sources for the budget are the P272.57 million from the general fund proper, and P193.98 million from the special accounts of income-generating offices of the city.

Also included in the budget is the P30 million intended for the city’s medical assistance program, with the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC), the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center and “Tambal ni Mayor” getting P10 million each.