• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod will soon start deliberations on the proposed P3.6 billion city budget for 2024, after its approval on first reading during the SP session Oct. 18.
Mayor Alfredo Benitez, in his budget message, said that 55 percent, or P1.97 billion, will be sourced from the National Tax Allotment (NTA) shares, and 45 percent, or P1.63 billion from local sources.
The P3.6 billion budget proposal “enjoys a significant increase of P350 million, or 11 percent, from this year’s P3.250 billion budget and maintains the City’s fiscal trajectory since attaining the three-billion mark”, starting in fiscal year 2020, and then in FY 2022, and FY 2023, Benitez said.
“We enjoy stability, attributing to our local sources. There is currently a noticeable growth in our local sources at the rate of 17 percent, or an increase of P239,078,582,” the mayor said.
Benitez said there was “a surge in the number of business registrations and business license renewals; tourism-wise, we have bounced back after the unprecedented success of the return of the MassKara Festival and other cultural events.”
He added that the highly-urbanized city also regained its status “as a hotbed for meetings, conventions, conferences, and infrastructure investment.”
“We also project an increase in the collection of local sources in the years to follow, through costs recovery arising from our relocation sites in barangays Handumanan and Vista Alegre, or the Abada-Escay and Arao properties,” Benitez said.
It is more than safe to conclude that the City of Bacolod is no longer traipsing on the path toward recovery, but has rather attained full economic recovery, he stressed.
Thirty-six percent of the proposed budget, or P1.32 billion, is earmarked for the General Public Services sector, composed of executive and legislative services at P828 million and P123 million, respectively, as well as the day-to-day operations of departments, agencies, and units of the city government.
The Social Services sector will get P1.24 billion or 34.61 percent of the budget pie, for education and manpower development, health services, housing and community projects, and social welfare.
Around 710 million, or 19.73 percent, is earmark for Other Services, including the city’s digitization initiatives; and P317.9 million, or 8.83 percent, for Economic Services, to “nurture Bacolod’s reputation as a business-friendly city with a rich local economy”, and for tourism and cultural events.
“By prioritizing our commitment to the city and our constituents, our efforts at providing basic services, improved public use facilities, and development projects have remained uninterrupted and unwavering,” Benitez told the SP. “In the past year, we have begun forging and will continue to forge the foundation of a better, more progressive Bacolod City.” | CGC
