THE Provincial Board of Negros Occidental unanimously approved the P4.2-billion budget of the Provincial Government during its regular session on Wednesday, November 27.

In a motion by Board Member Rommel Debulgado, chair of the Committee on Budget and Finance, the budget underwent public hearing for three weeks where departments, offices and programs defended their proposed budgets.

Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer said their timeline in passing the budget was followed so it was passed on time.

The 2020 budget underwent a "thorough deliberation," Ferrer said.

He said the 2020 budget increased by P271 million, adding that this can be attributed to an increase in income and the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of the Provincial Government.

"The increase in budget means better, more services and projects for our constituents," the vice governor said.

Ferrer also thanked the board members for their cooperation during the budget deliberations.

The bulk of the proposed P4.3-billion proposed budget for 2020 will go to Personal Services (PS) of the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental.

Of the total budget, P2.1 billion will go to Personal Services, P780 million to maintenance and other operating expenses, and P1.2 billion to special purpose appropriations.

The proposed General Fund for 2020 is P4.2 billion, and P121 million will come from Economic Enterprise Department operations. The 2020 fund will come from tax revenue of P98,000,000; non-tax revenue of P379,957,719; and the IRA of P3,725,935,964 for a total of P4,203,893,683.