With the January 12, 2026 closing of government books fast approaching, Iloilo City Councilor Sheen Marie Mabilog is pressing City Hall to act on the unreleased CESPEDIC funds for her office, warning that continued inaction will leave her staff unpaid and allow the money to revert to the Mayor’s Office as savings.

The CESPEDIC (Coordinated Executive Sangguniang Panlungsod Efforts for the Development of Iloilo City) allocation for Mabilog’s office, covering July to December 2025, remains undisbursed, leaving three employees without salaries for six months.

Mabilog said the situation goes beyond budgetary delays and has become an issue of fairness and accountability.

According to the councilor, she was formally informed through a December 19, 2025 letter from City Administrator Melchor Tan that salaries could not be released to employees who lacked signed contracts or job orders before starting work.

However, Mabilog maintained that her office had already completed and submitted all required documents and that the delay stemmed from the executive branch’s failure to act.

According to Mabilog, what troubles her most is that her office appears to be the only one affected, despite other councilors allegedly receiving their respective CESPEDIC funds.

The opposition councilor questioned why her allocation alone remains frozen as the fiscal year draws to a close.

“This is no longer just about paperwork. This directly affects my staff, who worked in good faith and are now left unpaid,” Mabilig said, adding that the matter cannot be dismissed as a simple administrative lapse.

With time running out before the mandatory year-end accounting deadline, Mabilog warned that failure to release the funds would automatically cause them to revert as savings under the Office of the Mayor—effectively erasing her office’s budget without ever being utilized.

Citing these circumstances, the councilor said she is now seeking legal advice to determine her possible remedies, including actions to protect the welfare of her employees and to clarify what she views as unequal treatment within the council.

As of this writing, the Mayor’s Office has yet to issue a response on whether the funds will still be released before the January 12 deadline. IMT