By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson recently revealed that the provincial government is currently eyeing a budget of P5 billion for 2022.

According to Lacson they are expecting a P1.4 billion increase of the National Tax Allocation (NTA) due to the Mandanas ruling which states that all local government units will receive additional budget because all collections of the Bureau of Customs and other taxes will be included in the computation of the NTA which used to be the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA).

Lacson said they have until October to submit the budget proposal to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for approval and the proposed budget will be distributed out for education, health, and infrastructure.

He further added that there is a need for allocations in the province’s pandemic response, pointing out it is needed just in case the COVID-19 pandemic continues to linger./WDJ