NEGROS Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. is proposing an annual budget of P2.931 billion for next year.
Second District Board Member Salvador Escalante Jr., chairman of committee on appropriations, budget, finance, ways and means, said his committee will convene Wednesday to finalize the schedule of the marathon hearings for the 2017 annual budget, which is expected to start in the next two weeks.
He said they will start deliberating the proposed budget on the floor by the end of November or first week of December.
“We’re looking to pass the budget in the second or third week of December,” he added.
Of the proposed P2.931 billion General Fund appropriation, P1.187 billion was allocated for the Hospital Operation Department and P71 million for the Economic Enterprise Development Department.
This year, the Provincial Government is operating on a P2.8 billion budget.