By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) of Negros Occidental is eyeing the passage of the proposed 2022 budget on the second week of November.

Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer said the proposed P5.7 billion is already with the Committee on Budget and Finance after it was submitted by the Office of the Governor last week.

Ferrer said the committee chaired by Board Member Rommel Debulgado will be the one to set the schedules of the different offices and agencies of the provincial government with the budget hearings expected to start this week.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ferrer said only major departments will be called to the hearings.

He said the proposed budget is 20 percent higher than the 2021 budget at P4.4 billion.

The increase is due to the Mandanas Ruling of the Supreme Court, which said that all collections of the Commission on Customs and other taxes will be included in the computation of the National Tax Allotment (NTA), otherwise known as the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA).

Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, meanwhile, said “with the additional sum in our NTA, the provincial government is required to provide programs, projects, and activities to be devolved from the national government.”

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

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 social services sector; P344, 765, 598 or 19.67 percent for general public services sector; and P264,878,496 or 15.11 percent for the economic services sector.

A total of P183,846,174.37 was appropriated for the operation of the Economic Enterprise Development Department./DGB, WDJ