By Mona Lagbas
CAGAYAN de Oro City Mayor Rolando Uy and his predecessor, lawyer Oscar Moreno, traded barbs anew on the fiscal status of the city government.
The issue was triggered after Xavier University billed City Hall last January 3 on the use of its facilities at Manresa complex in upper Carmen as isolation units and temporary holding dormitories for affected persons and families during the Covid-19 crisis between March 2020 to April 2022.
The letter – signed by Xavier University facilities manager Haide May de Castro – stated that the city government incurred a total of P7,805,365 in payables during the stay of the Covid-19 patients there.
Uy said in a press conference that the matter should have been settled during Moreno’s time considering the period cited in the letter.
During his press conference January 15 at his office, Uy released to media a set of documents outlining the assets and liabilities of City Hall as of June 2022 just before Uy became mayor.
According to the list, the city government had a total of P9,639,442,043.67 of assets at the time and a total of P2,973,984,666.53 in liabilities.
But during the press conference, Uy repeatedly emphasized that the city only had a total of P356,358,151 of cash by the end of 2022 to work with versus the P2 billion in debt.
“Gibinlan lang kita og P356 million pagsugod nato og lingkod pero ang utang sa siyudad P2 billion,” he said.
Uy himself urged all hospitality suppliers of City Hall during Covid time to come forward and bill the city government just as what Xavier University had done.
In his presentation, Uy said that City Hall had already paid as of December last year a total of P936,021,457.58 to suppliers owed since 2020. The amount does not include payables for infrastructure projects.
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