MAJORITY Floor Leader Councilor Edgar Cabanlas on Monday, Oct. 27, disclosed that the City Council trimmed P600 million from the Office of the City Mayor under Rolando Uy in the approved 2026 annual budget.
The 21-member council passed the more than P9-billion spending plan, supported by roughly P8 billion in projected general fund revenues and over P1 billion from local economic enterprises.
Cabanlas said the approved budget is “reasonable,” noting the reduction was finalized during Saturday’s deliberation.
“Dili unreasonable ang atong budget kay lagi atong gi-ubsan ug P600 million kay lagi that’s a big amount of money,” he said, explaining that the council wanted a more realistic target aligned with actual income.
Last year’s income was P5.2 billion, according to Minority Floor Leader Agapito Suan Jr.
Cabanlas confirmed the cut was drawn entirely from Uy’s office.
“More or less ang reduction toa sa executive, sa office ni mayor, he is humble enough nga gisugot sya,” Cabanlas said, adding that the legislative branch retained its current allocation while Uy accepted reductions to give way to other departments.
Under Section 458 of the Local Government Code of 1991 (Republic Act No. 7160), it is not up to the chief local executive to accept any reduction to the city budget.
It is the legislative body of a local government unit — the Sangguniang Panlungsod (city) — that has the power to appropriate funds for the general welfare of its constituents. It is also called the “power of the purse.”
A report from the Inquirer noted that the City Mayor’s Office and the City General Services Office are among the top five recipients in the 2026 budget, allotted P498.3 million (7.5 percent) and P420.2 million (6.3 percent), respectively, for executive operations, community assistance, and maintenance.
“Our goal is to make the budget work for people’s everyday needs — infrastructure, health, and social protection remain our anchors. We are investing where impact is most immediate,” Uy said in his budget message.
