P1.4B for Misamis Oriental 2011 budget

ALLOCATIONS for social services such as health and education will be significantly boosted in the proposed 2011 Misamis Oriental budget.

Vice Governor Norris Babiera said the proposed 2011 budget of P1.4 billion is significantly a "conservative" budget, only 10 percent higher than the 2010 budget.

"We're on 70 percent in our deliberation and so far, we have no problems with the departments that have already submitted their budget," Babiera told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro.

Of the proposed budget, social services have a bigger share, amounting to P611 billion, or 43.11 percent of the total budget, followed by general public services and economic budget, the three together being the top priority.

Babiera emphasized that the budget is carefully reviewed by the Provincial Council based on the Provincial Government's spending income and expenditure.

"We also checked if the 2010 budget has been complied with because under the local budget memorandum circular, the expenditure should not exceed the income," Babiera said.

Nevertheless, he said, there's no problem with the estimated income and expenditure.

Meanwhile, Babiera said there is nothing wrong with Governor Oscar Moreno's intention of aiming high in his 2011 budget, citing that this would help encourage department heads and everybody to work harder to reach their target.

"Because if he won't aim high, there would be complacency among the employees. They would no longer work hard," he said. (Annabelle L. Ricalde)