Iloilo City Council probes barangay, SK budget delays

By Mariela Angella Oladive

The Iloilo City Council will begin next week an investigation into delays in the approval of annual budgets among barangays and Sangguniang Kabataan councils as officials push reforms to simplify the budgeting process.

Councilor Rex Marcus Sarabia, the council’s floor majority leader and chair of the Committee on Appropriations, said the inquiry was approved last week and will be jointly referred to the committees on appropriations, barangay affairs and the SK.

“We passed a resolution seeking an investigation into the budgetary crisis. Next week we will try to start the proceedings,” Sarabia said in an interview March 3.

Sarabia earlier said only 12 of the city’s 180 barangays had approved their 2026 annual budgets, while only two SK councils had passed their spending plans.

He described the situation as a “widespread budgetary crisis” that could affect the implementation of community programs and services funded through local appropriations.

The City Budget Office later reported that additional barangay and SK budget proposals have since been endorsed to the City Council for final review.

Sarabia said the goal of the investigation is not to pressure barangay and SK officials but to identify bottlenecks and help them comply with budgeting requirements.

“We already met with SK and barangay representatives and they welcomed the initiative,” he said.

Sarabia said the budgeting process can be complicated and that both human and policy-related errors may contribute to delays.

He said the council is studying measures to streamline the process, including a checklist system, standardized budget templates, added technical staff assistance and enforcement of a strict budget calendar.

Sarabia said the council is also considering an automatic review clause that would trigger a review if budget submissions are delayed beyond a fixed period.

“We want to streamline the planning process and make it simpler,” he said.

At the same time, Sarabia said the council is examining possible administrative liabilities for officials who repeatedly fail to submit annual budgets on time.

He said possible violations under review include misfeasance or dereliction of duty, which could lead to sanctions imposed by the City Council.

Sarabia said penalties must be weighed carefully because suspending officials could further delay budget approvals.

Under Section 323 of Republic Act 7160, or the Local Government Code of 1991, if a sanggunian fails to pass its annual appropriation ordinance before the start of the fiscal year, the previous year’s budget is reenacted until a new budget is approved.

Under a reenacted budget, the local government continues operating under the previous year’s appropriations, with spending generally limited to existing and essential expenses.

City Budget Office records show 15 barangay budgets had been endorsed to the City Council for final review as of Feb. 27.

The barangays were Pali Benedicto (Mandurriao), Ingore (La Paz), Luna (La Paz), Magdalo (La Paz), Claudio Castilla Sr. (Jaro), Cochero (Molo), M.V. Hechanova (Jaro), Kasing-Kasing (Molo), Simon Ledesma (Jaro), North San Jose (Molo), Oñate de Leon (Mandurriao), Calumpang (Molo), Banuyao (La Paz), Q. Abeto Mirasol (Mandurriao) and South Fundidor (Molo).

City Budget Office records also show nine SK budgets had been endorsed to the City Council for final review as of Feb. 27.

The SK councils were Tagbac (Jaro), Sta. Rosa (Mandurriao), San Rafael (Mandurriao), South San Jose (Molo), North Baluarte (Molo), Oñate de Leon (Mandurriao), Compania Central (Molo), Katilingban (Molo) and West Timawa (Molo).