CEBU CITY (PNA) — The Cebu City government will need P200 million to fund projects lined up by newly-elected Mayor Michael Rama during his first 100 days in office.

Rama has pledged to implement projects such as asphalting and improving the drainage system, health services, traffic and streetlights.

He is also planning to renovate Plaza Independencia where the Cebu South Coastal Road tunnel project underneath is nearing completion.

Rama said the projects will be funded through Supplemental Budget (SB) 4 amounting to P200 million, which he expects the City Council to pass soon.

However, Councilor Joey Daluz III, who chairs the City Council Committee on Budget and Finance, said he still has to receive the budget documents.

Daluz said once the documents are submitted to him, he will schedule a budget hearing to discuss projects funded under SB-4.

SB-4 will be funded with realigned funds, the biggest chunk of which will come from this year’s Local Development Fund (LDF) amounting to P153 million.

Former city mayor and now south district Rep. Tomas Osmeña has suggested to city officials to realign the P40 million already set aside for the rehabilitation of the Cebu City Sports Center’s rubberized oval.

He said the project can still be implemented even if its budget is realigned because the city can just borrow money to secure loan approval. Osmeña also said loan approval is enough for the Commission on Audit (CoA) to allow the project’s bidding to proceed.

Since the project can never be completed this year, Osmeña said the city does not need the money from the bank because it can pay the contractor after the surplus funds for 2010 are realized.

But the Rama administration is not keen on borrowing money from the bank to implement projects with realigned funds.

Rama said he does not want the city to “drown in debt” because it is still paying its huge loan for the South Road Properties (SRP).

"When we borrow, that means we can pay,” stressed Rama, “unlike many others who keep on borrowing even if they don’t have the capacity to pay and thus, are in what we call a state of drowning in debts.”

Cebu City is projecting to have over a billion pesos in surplus funds this year although the CoA does not allow supplemental budgets to be financed based on projections.

That is the reason why City Hall needs to realign some appropriations approved in several previous supplemental budgets.

Daluz said if the city budget office can submit the documents in time, SB-4 can be approved as early as the end of this month.