Wednesday, October 17, 2007 Proposed budget P200M more than 2007 outlay
GOV. Gwendolyn Garcia submitted yesterday afternoon a proposed budget of P2.2 billion for next year’s Capitol operations, beating the Oct. 16 deadline set by the Local Government Code.
Next year’s allocation is higher than this year’s budget, which is P2.001 billion.
The budget will be included in the calendar for the next regular session of the Cebu Provincial Board, which will automatically task its committee on budget and appropriations to study the proposal.
Unlike in the late 1990s when the annual allocation was always the subject of a tug-of-war at the Capitol—forcing the Province to operate on a reenacted budget for several years—the last two annual budgets of the Capitol were passed without intense discussions.
This will be the first annual budget to be tackled by this new set of Capitol officials. With only two opposition members sitting at the board, next year’s budget isn’t expected to cause much of a stir among provincial lawmakers.
IRA share
About 53.73 percent of the budget comes from the Province’s share of the country’s Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA).
For Garcia, this means Cebu Province has “reliably shown its relative autonomy” from the IRA.
The Capitol also continued to set at 27 percent the budget for personnel services, which is below the 45-percent limit set by law.
“(We) maintain our thrust towards a lean and efficient bureaucracy under a system that rewards performance and leaves no room for sloppy service. Delivery of more excellent services at less cost should be the guiding principle in government run as an enterprise,” read Garcia’s message to the board.
Most of the P2.2 billion will go to general public services, at 36.71 percent or P807,675,000. Economic services follows, at 36.41 percent or P801,021,000. Social services gets P591,386,000, or 26.88 percent.
“This annual budget espouses the judicious application of resources, bearing in mind my principle in governance that a budget must be, beyond theoretical presentation, an approximation of people’s hopes and aspirations,” said Garcia.
Development fund
The development fund mandated by law for local government units is P690 million, which is larger than the 20 percent minimum requirement of P440 million. The release of the development fund depends on the governor’s discretion.
Allocations charged to the development fund are contained in the annual development plan approved by the Provincial Development Council.
For next year, the council allotted P507.2 million for economic services, P176.6 million for social services, and P6.2 million for general public services.
The various district hospitals in the province will get P193.04 million, while the budget for the South Bus Terminal is P21 million.
Among the various offices, the governor’s office gets the highest allocation, at P441 million, followed by the office of the accountant, with P166 million.
The vice governor’s office has a budget of P45.9 million, slightly higher than the provincial jail’s P44.9 million.
Each PB member’s office has an allocation of P8.7 million for 2008. (JPM)
