Monday, August 18, 2008 Villages told not to rely on IRA to fund projects
VILLAGES in Benguet were told to venture into other income-generating projects than merely depending on their share from the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA).
Liza Fangsilat, director of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in the region, advised barangay officials to raise funds for their local governments by looking for other resources aside from their IRA.
Fangsilat said there are other projects and undertakings that the villages could carry out to generate financial resources.
Majority, or 95 percent of villages, Fangsilat said, are dependent on their IRA.
Fangsilat was among the speakers during a recent two-day workshop on the preparation of the 2009 financial budgets for barangays.
According to Fangsilat, villages could establish their own economic enterprises such as satellite markets and multipurpose buildings, which could be rented out during occasions, as additional fund sources.
The DBM releases the IRAs of barangays on a staggered basis.
Fangsilat also told village officials to include their Annual Investment Plans (AIP) the preparation of their budgets.
She said the AIP should not only be limited to the 20-percent development fund. This must include the total resources, honoraria and the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (Mooe).
Local budgeting and planning, according to Fangsilat, should be taken seriously and should not be done only for compliance as what is being done at present.
The total IRA shares of the country's 41,884 villages come to P40,850,760,776.
The unreleased IRA shares of the barangays for 2001 and 2004 also serve as additional resources for the villages. (JC)
