By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

A big chunk of the proposed P5,719,337,346 budget for 2022 in Negros Occidental will go to the Special Purpose Appropriations (SPA) pegged at P2,142,140,592 or 37.45 percent.

The SPA includes appropriations for gender, disaster, peace and order, and other special concerns and sectors.

This is contained in the budget message of Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson addressed to the members of the Sanggunian Panlalawigan led by Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer.

For Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE), a total of P1,812,481,024 or 31.69 percent is allotted; personal services at P1,752,715,730 or 30.65 percent of the budget; and capital outlay at P12,000,000 or 21 percent.

Under the personal services, a total of P1,143,071,636 or 65.22 percent is allotted for the social services sector; P344,765,598 or 19.67 percent for the general public services sector; and P264,878,496 or 15.11 percent for the economic services sector.

A total of P183,846,174.37 is appropriated for the operation of the Economic Enterprise Development Department.

Lacson said the “annual expenditure program is designed to better address the climacteric issues and concerns of our province.”

“Notwithstanding that there is a dramatic increase in our National Tax Allotment (formerly Internal Revenue Allotment) caused by the Supreme Court ruling on the Mandanas-Garcia case, it is still an uphill climb considering that this does not come without added responsibilities,” the governor pointed out.

He said that 94.25 percent of the total estimated budget will be derived from the NTA while 5.75 percent from local revenues./DGB, WDJ