By Roc Obedencio
Bohol Vice Governor Julius Caesar Herrera started the ball rolling by scrutinizing the items of each department/office proposed annual outlay of the provincial government during marathon hearings on the 2009 provincial budget to the tune of more than PhP1,024,489,000 last week.
Herrera said the appropriations committee he chairs first delved on health sector calling heads of the Provincial Health Office and the ten-devolved hospitals to be able to justify and defend their respective allocation for next year.
The hospitals who hurdled the grilling during the hearing held on Dec. 2 and 4, 2008 were Maribojoc Community, Provincial Hospital in Talibon, Cong. Galagar Memorial, Catigbian District, Francisco Dagohoy in Inabanga, Candijay Municipal and PHO.
Hospitals of Cong. Natalio Castillo Memorial in Loon, Cong. Simeon Toribio Memorial in Carmen, Pres. Carlos P. Garcia Municipal and Clarin Municipal are expected to defend theirs this week.
Among the committee members who attended the budget hearings held at SP conference room include vice-chairperson Amalia Tirol and committee members Ester Corazon Galbreath, Josephine Socorro Jumamoy and Jose Veloso and senior board member Cesar Tomas Lopez.
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan has initially approved on first reading the proposed provincial budget for 2009.
The said annual outlay is higher than this year’s (2008) and 2007 in the total amount of PhP886,663,537 and PhP793,570,040, respectively.
Gov. Erico Aumentado, in his message, said that the annual budget aims to provide access the people to all basic needs and services.
He also pointed out that the provincial government also tries to improve the organizational and human resource capabilities and the investment and environment climate and increase agricultural productivity.
Enhancing tax collection, tax rates upgrading and upgrading hospital fees/charges and revenue generation are among the priorities of the budget, he added.
The annual budget is mainly sourced out on Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) in the amount of PhP880 million or 90% of the total budget. Other sources include estimated total revenues in the amount of PhP77,250,000 or 10%, said the governor in his budget message.
As usual, the personnel services (salaries, wages) got the lion’s share in the total amount of PhP409,817,033, higher than this year’s PhP374,142,453, and PhP355,394,042 in 2007.
To keep the provincial operations sustained, the maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) are pegged at PhP242,714,824, higher than PhP212,002,889 for this year, much higher than PhP170,359,340 for 2007.
Other important items in the budget include Capital Outlay with an allocation of PhP8,342,500; Provincial Development Initiative program, PhP33,300,000; Development Fund, P176,000,000; Calamity Fund, PhP47,689,297; Annual Aid to barangays, PhP5,545,000; Loan amortization, PhP 4,046,000; Aid to National Government Agencies, PhP5,527,606; Gender and Development, PhP28,107,740; Special Purpose, PhP9,160,00; Rice Accelerated Program (RACER) program, PhP32,329,000 and lump sum for salary increase, PhP22,000,000.
Linkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=16661.0
