THE World Bank, through the Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP) and national government agencies, will fund “big ticket” infrastructure projects in Negros Occidental during the second term of Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson.
This was said by Provincial Administrator lawyer Rayfrando Diaz II on Monday, June 27, 2022, adding that these projects include the construction of six slaughterhouses in the towns of Hinoba-an, Cauayan, Murcia, Toboso, Binalbagan and San Carlos City with a budget of P49 million to P50 million each.
Diaz said the construction of the bridge in Barangay Puey, Sagay City will also be funded by the World Bank through a grant.
Of the amount, 10 percent will be shouldered by the provincial government and another 10 percent will come from the national government.
"We are very resourceful in sourcing funds from the outside. Despite the shortage of our National Tax Allotment (NTA) we can still pursue important projects for Negros Occidental,” he said.
The provincial administrator added that with the assistance of the six congressmen in Negros Occidental and Bacolod Mayor-elect Alfredo Benitez, they can access more funds from national government agencies to continue the programs aimed at making the province and the highly urbanized city more prosperous.
Concerns were earlier raised if the provincial government will have enough funds to finance the projects and programs laid down by Lacson during his inaugural speech on Saturday, June 25, considering that the provincial government is facing a 14.7-percent cut in its NTA next year.
Negros Occidental and its 31 towns and cities as well as its capital Bacolod City will suffer a P3.8-billion drop in its NTA for 2023.
This meant that they will only receive a total of P22,509,531,116 in 2023 compared to P26,317,672,315 in 2022.
The provincial government’s NTA share will drop by P782,280,808.
The province's 12 cities' NTA drop will be P2 billion while the 19 municipalities will have a drop of P706,076,15.
Bacolod City's share of the NTA will drop by P302,280,808, according to the Department of Budget and Management.