CEBU Province may face delays in spending plans for next year’s programs after the executive branch failed to submit its proposed P11.9-billion annual budget on time to the Provincial Board (PB), over two weeks past the submission deadline.
PB Member Celestino “Tining” Martinez III, chairman of the committee on budget, appropriations and finance, confirmed to SunStar Cebu on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, that the PB has yet to receive the Capitol’s proposed 2026 budget — more than two weeks after the Oct. 16 deadline set under the Local Government Code.
“Its delayed submission has already run us too close to the deadline in passing the budget for next year,” Martinez said. “As of the last I checked with the agenda set for Monday’s session, [there was] no word on the 2026 budget. And as of the moment, no document has been received to this date, Oct. 31,” he added.
Martinez said the delay could compress the time needed for the PB to hold deliberations, committee hearings and multiple readings before the budget can be enacted.
“It has to be deliberated on. It is a requirement by law, part of the legislative process,” he said.
According to Martinez, under Section 318 of Republic Act (RA) 7160, or the Local Government Code, local chief executives are required to submit the proposed annual budget to their respective councils no later than Oct. 16 of the current fiscal year.
Asked whether the PB still has enough time to pass the 2026 budget, Martinez said, “That I cannot say. First time pa man gud ni nahitabo (This is the first time it has happened) in my years as a board member. Diha ra ta mahibaw (We will know) when they submit it to the Sanggunian (PB). For now, all we can really do is wait.”
Executive branch cites extended consultations
Cebu Province Public Information Officer Ainjeliz Dela Torre Orong, meanwhile, said the delay stemmed from extended consultations with accredited civil society organizations (CSOs) and sectoral boards.
“The consultation with accredited CSOs and various sectoral boards needed a longer period to make sure the budget Guv proposes is truly the ‘People’s Budget.’ The process will be completed next week with the ‘People’s Budget 2026’ submitted to the PB,” Orong said on Sunday.
Gov. Pamela Baricuatro, who officially took over the governorship at the Capitol on June 30, announced the 2026 budget proposal on Sept. 20, 10 days before the magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck offshore Bogo City and affected north Cebu.
In a statement from the Capitol Public Information page, Governor Baricuatro described her proposed P11.9-billion budget for 2026 as “realistic” and reflective of the Province’s true revenue capacity, saying it aims to end what she called the practice of “bloated” budgeting.
The proposed amount is 52.4 percent lower than the P25-billion annual budget for 2025, which Baricuatro criticized as “bloated” and designed to “look impressive despite the Capitol’s inability to meet its revenue targets.”
Key budget timeline provisions
According to RA 7160, the budget process for a local government follows a strict timeline:
Oct. 16: Local chief executives must submit the proposed annual budget to the council (Section 318).
October to Dec. 31: The PB conducts budget deliberations and passes the appropriation ordinance.
Reenactment clause
Under Section 323 of RA 7160, if the PB fails to approve the annual budget within 90 days from the start of the fiscal year, the previous year’s budget is automatically reenacted. This allows only essential expenses — such as salaries, mandatory obligations and basic operating costs — to be funded until a new budget is passed. / CDF