By Mae Singuay

Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has set a 30-day timeline for city government offices to process the payment for their suppliers.

“This was this issue nga mga suppliers kuno indi na magbato sang amon pricing subong because kalawig magbayad ang city [government],” Benitez said during a press conference at the Bacolod City Government Center yesterday.

“Because of that issue, the suppliers were able to add the ‘cost of money’ for they find hard to deal with the city,” he added.

Benitez cited that there was a supplier that had a pending collectible with the city government back in 2020, and is now asking for a payment.

He said they would come up with a plan that would require department and division offices in the city hall to process their payment on time.

The directive will assure that within 30 days after the delivery of services, the suppliers will be paid, Benitez said.

“The suppliers, in this case, indi na sila magbutang additional cost,” Benitez said.

The City Internal Audit Team is tasked to monitor and keep up with the timeline.

He said all city government offices involved in the process of payment have agreed to the directive.

The mayor said this matter was part of the budget deliberation with department and office heads and the city council in Boracay last week./MS, WDJ