P28M FOR SUROY SUROY SUGBO?

SOME quarters are wondering as to why the Cebu Provincial Government is allocating a gargantuan budget for next year's Suroy Suroy Sugbo (SSS) that former Gov. Gwen Garcia initiated during her term.

Please note that this year, the Tourism Office's budget is only P3 million -- but for next year, it wants an allocation of P101 million, P28 million of which will be for the SSS.

The budget hike is obviously too big, the drastic increase too shocking, to say the least.

Of course, boosting local tourism is commendable but not with that gigantic budget to accomplish it. It simply is wasteful spending of public funds that could be better utilized for more important Capitol-initiated projects or programs.

But, hey, didn't the sitting governor promise months ago to scrap the SSS simply because it was a Gwen initiative?

With the desired funding of P28 million for the 2026 SSS, does Capitol mean it'll implement the tourism program despite its being a creation of the sitting governor's predecessor?

If so, can they not at least significantly decrease the budget being sought for?