‘BUDGET WAR’: Baronda claims politics behind SP 2026 budget cuts

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

A brewing budget dispute has emerged in the Iloilo City Government as Vice Mayor Lady Julie Grace “Love-Love” Baronda alleged that politics influenced the sharp reduction of the Sangguniang Panlungsod’s (SP) proposed 2026 budget.

Baronda claimed that her office’s capital outlay was cut from PHP 1.1 million this year to only PHP 350,000 in the 2026 proposal, while the SP as a whole received no allocation for capital outlay.

The vice mayor said this prompted her refusal to sign the 2026 SP budget proposal submitted by the Office of the Mayor to the City Council, noting that she has only reviewed the capital outlay portion so far.

Capital outlay funds are intended for the acquisition, construction, upgrading, or improvement of physical assets and infrastructure.

Baronda explained that approving the budget would block any future request for additional funds, which is why she withheld her signature.

“I have reservations, that is why I did not sign,” she said. “If you submit yourself—signing the budget proposal—during the deliberations, we can no longer ask for additional budget.”

She added that the SP requested a higher allocation for 2026 since it now operates in its own legislative building.

While she initially hesitated to attribute the cuts to politics, Baronda said she now believes the reduction is because she is in the opposition bloc.

“I don’t want to think that this is all about politics, but I can feel that this happened because I am in the opposition,” she stressed.

Baronda pointed to Councilor Rex Marcus Sarabia’s manifestation as evidence of politicization, where he said the majority bloc councilors were willing to have their CESPEDIC program budgets slashed.

“We will take the first sacrifice for the Ilonggo people so they would feel that this is public service and we are austere and conservative in managing the budget,” Sarabia said.

The Coordinated Executive Sangguniang Panlungsod Efforts for the Development of Iloilo City (CESPEDIC) provides councilors with a budget for maintenance and other operating expenses, including salaries and development initiatives.

Baronda earlier flagged that her office and that of Councilor Sheen Mabilog have yet to receive their CESPEDIC allocations, even though over PHP 74.5 million was earmarked for the program in 2025.

The Office of the City Mayor handles CESPEDIC utilization, including fund releases, contract approvals, and job order appointments.

“I was not born yesterday,” Baronda said. “It would be acceptable to slash the CESPEDIC budget if we were all treated equally.”

She added that councilors aligned with the administration can still request job orders from the mayor even without CESPEDIC funds, a privilege not extended to her or Mabilog.

Baronda criticized Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu’s call for good governance, calling it mere “lip service” in light of the unresolved CESPEDIC allocations.

Sarabia, who chairs the Committee on Appropriations, said he is unsure of the reasons behind the budget cuts.

He noted the budget is not final and Baronda’s proposal may still be considered in a supplemental budget.

“Although I am not convinced of her manifestation because she did not detail what she requested,” Sarabia said.

“Maybe there were no detailed items in the proposal,” he added, referring to Baronda’s failure to submit specific documentation for the SP’s budget request.

“I am not certain what her request really is,” he said. “She could have at least stated it on record, because if you are speaking from a position of truth, you could easily say it to everyone. I was not impressed with the retort—or the lack of retort.”