News Briefs

CCCI CLAIMS

OFFICIALS of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) now have a reason to smile after the Cebu City Council’s committee on budget led by Councilor Jose Daluz III endorsed the release of its P4 million money claims, which dates back to 2008 and 2009.

Daluz, who presented the committee report on May 4, said “the contractual and statutory obligations should be included in the next Supplemental Budget since these were not included in the regular budget for the year 2011”.

Former mayor and now Cebu City south district Rep. Tomas Osmena authorized the release of P2 million per year as financial assistance to CCCI for hosting the Cebu Business Month in 2008 and 2009.

The financial assistance were covered by two separate City Council resolutions and Memoranda of Agreements.

However, its releases were stopped based on the disallowance issued by the Commission on Audit (COA) which stated that the assistance could not be charged to the city’s share of Pagcor funds.

CCCI president Samuel Chioson wrote councilor Margot Osmeña earlier to seek assistance for the release of the P4 million allocation promised to CCCI. /Correspondent Edison A. Delos Angeles

GABALDON BLDGS

THE Cebu Provincial government plans to restore American-period school buildings called Gabaldon buildings in the province.

Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said on Friday in Pinamungajan town, western Cebu that she wanted to restore these buildings because she considers them heritage buildings.

Garcia said that the buildings were already considered heritage buildings during the time of the late President Corazon Aquino.

These buildings were built more than a century ago and were named after Assemblyman Isauro Gabaldon of Nueva Ecija, who sponsored Republic Act No. 1801, which allocated P1 million for the construction of these buildings to every municipality in the Philippines.

She said some of these buildings still stand today, but most had already been reduced to rubble or are dilapidated. /UPV Tacloban Intern Ana Asteria M. Erpe