Cebu City’s 2026 legislative budget to be cut by P500 million

Local

HALF a billion pesos is coming off Cebu City Hall’s legislative budget next year.

In a Facebook post on Friday, September 12, Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña announced that the combined budget of his office and the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) will shrink by P512 million in 2026, with savings redirected to medicines, the City Scholars program, and senior citizens’ cash aid.

“As head of the Legislative, I am proud to announce that we will be saving over HALF A BILLION pesos in budget cuts compared to previous years,” he wrote.

“Gone are useless vanity projects like the Vice Mayor’s Portrait Gallery… Instead, the total reduction will be used towards medicines, the City Scholars, the Senior Citizens’ assistance, and more," he added.

The SP-Legislative allocation will drop by 54 percent, from P606 million to P284 million. The SP-Secretariat budget will be slashed by 73 percent, from P179 million to P49 million.

The Office of the Vice Mayor will also see a 42 percent reduction, from P140 million to P82 million, even with a new “Mayor of the Night” program included.

Osmeña earlier told the council he would leave several posts in his office unfilled as part of “doing his share” to ease the strain on city finances.

“I just want to inform the council I have prepared the budget… P500 million less, 50 percent off. I’m not even filling up all the slots of vice mayor, so I’m doing my share. I am putting my money where my mouth is,” he said. “There are people who have been left out. We cannot penalize those who are left out. Whatever we have, we’ll need to divide it.”

The timing of Osmeña’s announcement coincides with heightened debate over the city’s senior citizen assistance program.

During the September 10 session, Minority Floor Leader Sisinio Andales questioned what he called a “sudden and suspicious” shift in the number of beneficiaries, rising from 92,998 in the first quarter to 94,099 in the second, then dropping to 93,037 in the third.

Councilor Franklyn Ong, citing a P11 million deficit, pushed for a full review.

“We cannot deprive senior citizens of assistance just because we have no funds. It’s high time to review the program so we can determine when and how those left out can finally be given aid,” Ong said.

This year, the city has allocated a budget of P14.6 billion.(TGP)