Negros Occ. PB approves P339M supplemental fund

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines  — The Negros Occidental Provincial Board, in its regular session Wednesday, unanimously approved the P339 million supplemental budget no. 4.

The approved budget (P339,418,028), will be allocated for various programs and projects of the province, including the purchase of land, according to PB Member Salvador Escalante Jr., chairman of the committee on finance, budget and appropriations.

Escalante said the source of funds for this budget will be: Reversion of accounts payable at P516,103.34; proceeds from sale of lot (P337,286,924.66); retained earnings on December 31, 2014 (P660,000); and sale of bidding documents (P955,000).

The P200 million of the budget will be earmarked for the purchase of land somewhere in the Murcia-Bacolod boundary or in Talisay City, said Escalante, adding that the property will be developed in the future as a possible housing project for provincial government employees.

Escalante said the Capitol, some 15 years ago, sold an excess property of the government-owned Mambukal Summer Resort in Murcia town to its employees for a reasonable price because it had not been developed at that time. “We have invested so much in the rehabilitation of Mambukal. The resort have lots of guests during weekends and the peak seasons,” he added.

Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. deemed it necessary to expand the Mambukal facilities by acquiring back the land the government sold before. 

He said many resisted on the plan to buy back the land, thus the Capitol will buy instead another land in Murcia, which has access to transportation, for relocation purposes. “We will swap the land to the beneficiaries who bought the property (in Mambukal) some 15 years ago,” he said.

The governor said the provincial government is also eyeing to purchase a property along the Bacolod-Silay Airport Access Road in Talisay City. With the approval of the supplemental budget, Escalante said the governor can now form a committee to handle the purchase of land.

Escalante said that “this is the biggest supplemental budget for this year and this may be the last,” adding that the bonuses of the workers will be augmented in their salary. (FREEMAN)