Capitol department heads will start presenting today their proposals for the provincial government’s 2016 annual budget.
The Provincial Health Office (PHO) will give the first presentation in the morning while the rest of the departments will follow in the afternoon.
“The purpose of the hearing is for department heads to defend their proposed budgets and for us to prioritize the items in the annual budget for next year,” said Provincial Budget Officer Danilo Rodas.
In December last year, the Provincial Board (PB) approved a P3-billion annual budget for 2015.
The PHO got one of the biggest allocations for this year’s budget with P409.3 million, an increase of 7.8 percent from 2014’s P379.7 million.
Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III prioritized health care in his administration.
The deadline for submission of budget proposals is Oct. 16.
Rodas said the PB and the Vice Governor’s Office will schedule their own budget hearings.
Asked whether the Capitol is expected to have a bigger budget for 2016, Rodas said it will depend on the provincial government’s income for this year. The Capitol targets to earn over P3 billion this year.
Rodas said they met half of their target in six months this year.
“Naturally, our department heads will propose a budget that is bigger than our expected income. That is why we need to prioritize,” Rodas said.
Under the law, the annual budget for the following year has to be approved on or before the end of the current year.
“This is necessary so that we already have a budget at the start of a brand new fiscal year,” Rodas said.
The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) already set to present its budget proposal of P130 million next year.
The approved budget for this year is 15.6 percent or P404.5-million higher than 2014’s which is P2.6 million. The Governor’s Office got the biggest budget with P587.5 million.
About P462.6 million was set aside for the Annual Investment Plan which mostly covers infrastructure projects.