Budget hearings on the proposed P4.2 billion 2020 budget for the Negros Occidental provincial government began yesterday. Provincial Board Member Rommel Debulgado, who chairs the Provincial Board Committee on Budget and Finance, said the hearings will be comprised of five whole-day sessions with the first round running until November 15 and the second scheduled from November 20 to 21.
22 departments, offices, and programs presented their budgets and by next week, November 20, another 16 will present. On the last day, the remaining 19 will be deliberated.
Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer said they are looking to pass the proposed budget by the end of this month and noted, while he will not compel or require all board members to attend all hearings, he encouraged them to attend sessions where “they have concerns on specific departments, offices, or programs.”
“It is not considered a marathon hearing,” the vice governor explained. “We cannot just fastrack the process or we [might] miss something.”
However, Ferrer said he does not anticipate any major problems with the budget that would delay its passage.
“The budget is projected for two years,” he said. “When it is submitted to the Office of the Governor, it is either increased or slashed depending on the priorities of the governor.”
“It will have to go through a process,” the vice governor added.
Earlier, Negros Occidental Provincial Budget Office Jose Percival Salado said the proposed budget is about ten percent higher than this year’s budget and will come from the 2020 internal revenue allotment, or a local government unit’s share of national tax revenue, which amounts to P3.72 billion. He added, the rest will be sourced from the Economic Enterprise Development Department and other local income./DGB, WDJ