Archival on first 100 days in office: ‘Satisfied but exhausted’

Local

AFTER a grueling first three months in office, Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival says he’s “satisfied but exhausted,” and for good reason.

He reported that his administration has reduced the city’s projected ₱6.8-billion deficit by ₱832 million in just 100 days.

Archival credited the early gains to strict cost-cutting and fiscal discipline that began on his first day in office last July, including manpower rationalization, operational expense reduction, and tighter controls on fuel and project spending.

“We reduced the deficit by ₱832 million through reforms and adjustments in how the city spends its money,” Archival reported during his 100-day address on Thursday, October 16. “I’m satisfied, but medyo kapoy lang ko gamay because I’ve been working all the time. In the next few months, things will normalize once we have our roadmap and the right people in place.”

The city’s 2025 approved budget stands at ₱15.6 billion, but with expected revenues of only ₱10 billion, the

Archival’s administration inherited a massive funding gap.

Within three months, City Hall managed to generate savings amounting to ₱832 million — ₱480 million from the Office of Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña and ₱252.5 million from reduced personnel costs. These savings helped fund Supplemental Budget 1 worth ₱81 million, covering ₱40.8 million for senior citizens’ assistance and ₱40 million for citywide road asphalting.

From April to June, the city employed 8,569 workers costing ₱702.5 million. By September, that number had dropped to 6,014, reducing the expense to ₱450 million — a ₱252.5-million cut achieved mainly by downsizing project-based positions.

Fuel spending also dropped from ₱12.2 million per month under the previous administration to ₱8.7 million, saving ₱3.5 million monthly.

Still, Archival admitted that red tape, not funding, has been the toughest challenge.

“One is the funding and the second is going through the process,” he said. “For example, if you want to desilt, you can’t just get the money unless there’s a calamity. It takes one to two weeks to declare it, then you make a program, bid it out, and that takes one and a half months.”

He said the city is now front-loading plans for 2026 to avoid constant reliance on supplemental budgets and minimize delays caused by procurement rules.

Archival said the administration has now established a “roadmap,” a unified direction shared across all departments to ensure smoother coordination and faster project delivery.

“All departments understand our direction,” he said. “With that in mind, dili nako maglisod ug hatag unsay ila buhaton because naa naman silay aim.”

In his first 100 days, Archival said 108 projects have already been rolled out under his 10-point agenda, focusing on health, food security, education, business development, infrastructure, climate resilience, housing, traffic, public safety, and social welfare.

These include programs benefiting senior citizens, PWDs, solo parents, drivers, vendors, the youth, LGBTQ+ communities, and even animal welfare advocates.

Despite bureaucratic hurdles, Archival said he’s confident Cebu City is “getting there.”

“For the last 90 days, I didn’t know what to do, didn’t know the direction, or the real problems. Now I know the system, and we’ve put the right people in. By December, I still can’t say it’s normal, but we’re getting there,” he said.(TGP)