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Laoag City earmarks P867M budget for 2019


By Dominic B. dela Cruz
Staff reporter

Laoag City—The city government here proposed PHP867,463,160.63 as its annual budget for 2019.

The proposed budget increased by PHP88 million compared to this year’s budget of PHP778,788,204.

The 11% increase was based on the proposed budget certified by city treasurer officer-in-charge Diomedes Gayban from the city’s estimated income for next year.

The PHP867,463,160 estimated income, which is the actual proposed budget, is higher from the city’s appropriations in the amount of P867,446,150.70 with a difference of P17,009.93.

The appropriated amount comes from the respective budgets of the different city hall department offices.

City budget officer Baby Angeline Emelda L. Castro said the final proposed budget was a result of the three-day budget hearing conducted by the local finance committee and department heads.

However, Ms. Castro said that the proposed budget might still have some changes as it is not yet completely finalized, after which, it will be presented to the local chief executive for endorsement to the Sangguniang Panlungsod’s approval.

Under the Local Government Code, annual budgets shall be submitted to the local sanggunian on or before October 16 for its deliberations and approval.

It was learned that for the past years, the Sangguniang Panlungsod invited members of the local finance committee and some selected department heads for queries especially those who have the biggest amounts of budgets during the deliberations.

For this year, the offices of the City Engineering, City Mayor, General Services, City Health and the City Social Welfare and Development are the usual having the biggest amounts of annual budgets every year.

While the budgets at the City Cemetery, Office of the City Administrator and the Legal Office has the least proposed budgets.

Under the proposed budget, the city government allocated some amounts under the Special Purpose Appropriations like the City Development Plan, Calamity Fund and Aid to Barangays including the Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES).

The city government also allocated subsidies to the different national agencies including the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Bureau of Fire Protection, Commission on Audit, Regional Trial Court, Municipal Trial Court, Office of the City Prosecutor, Public Attorney’s Office, Dept. of Interior and Local Government and the National Bureau of Investigation.

The budget also includes financial aid to traffic enforcement, barangay tanods, tricycle/calesa associations, People’s Law Enforcement Board, City Anti-Drug Abuse Council, Sangguniang Kabataan and the HIV/AIDS Council.

Ms. Castro said the city’s internal revenue allotment (IRA) share also plays a big part in the proposed annual budget.

Next year’s IRA share is pegged at PHP492,943,031, up PHP45,269,827 from this year’s PHP447,637,204.

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