Cebu’s 2019 budget is P4.69 billion

CEBU, Philippines — The proposed P4.69 billion budget for Cebu province for next year sailed smoothly through the Provincial Board (PB) yesterday.

The PB, in its last regular session of the year yesterday, approved the 2019 annual budget, without any amendment to or revision of items.

The budget is 4.2 percent higher compared to this year’s P4.5 million, said Provincial Budget Officer Danilo Rodas. The 2018 approved budget was also up by P900 million from 2016.

Bulk or P136 million of the increase of P190.69 million, Rodas said, is set aside for the salaries of Capitol employees assigned in two newly-formed offices—the Provincial Tourism Office and the Cebu Provincial Investment and Promotions Office.

The biggest chunk of the 2019 budget, or P1.48 billion, will go to the Provincial Health Office (PHO) which is operating four provincial hospitals and 12 district hospitals across the province.

Of the amount, P1.2 billion is for the improvement of the district and provincial hospitals. The remaining P254 million is intended for public health programs.

The governor’s office also got bigger appropriation at P807 million, higher than this year’s P735 million. The Provincial Engineering Office (PEO), on the other hand, got an approved budget of P400 million.

Bulk of PEO’s budget is set aside for the construction of more road network projects.

The smallest budget, P9.1 million, is allocated for the operating expenses of the offices of each of the Provincial Board members, including the ex-officio members. Last week, the PB has also passed the province’s fourth supplemental budget amounting to P104 million.

Of the amount, P43 million was allocated for the P25,000 Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA) incentive of each of the regular and casual employees of the Capitol.

The P4.69 billion budget will be sourced from the Capitol’s income sources—80 percent from Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) and 20 percent from local taxes, said Rodas.

The provincial government has an IRA of P3.121 billion this year. For next year, Rodas has forecasted P3.43 billion in IRA. — KBQ (FREEMAN)