Bacolod retains P3.25-B annual budget

The Bacolod City government which has a P3.25-billion budget in 2022 will operate with the same budgetary allocation in 2023 with the expected cut of P302.69 million in its National Tax Allocation (NTA) share next year.

The amount, which comprises P1.85 billion from the NTA share and P1.39 billion from local sources, was approved by the city council on third and final reading Wednesday afternoon.

Councilor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, chair of the committee on appropriations and finance, said there will be a 10 percent reduction in the maintenance and other operating expenses of all departments to “soften the impact” of the lesser NTA share.

With the creation of the Task Force on Business and Tax Mapping, the City Treasurer’s Office is expected to boost its tax collection, he added.

Sayson said the city is also looking at improved collections by the Bacolod Housing Authority and the Office of the Building Official.

“The budget is expected to be responsive to the needs of the people of Bacolod. We have to make adjustments. It will be the same so we will not fall short of our budget. (The amount) is the same, but the priorities are different,” he said.

In his budget message, Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said the 2023 annual budget has been formulated based on a multipartite system of consultation.

The local government collected inputs from representatives of the private sector and non-government organizations, he added.* (Nanette Guadalquiver)