SP to start 2022 budget hearings

SHARE THIS STORY
TWEET IT
Email

A series of hearings for the budgets of different departments and offices of the provincial government of Negros Occidental will start anytime this week, Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer said.

Ferrer, presiding officer of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, said the SP received the 2022 budget proposal from the Office of Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson last week.

Negros Occidental Provincial Capitol Building

Lacson proposed a 2022 budget of P5.7 billion, which shows an increase of P1.3 billion from this year’s P4.4 billion appropriation, following an expected hike in the National Tax Allocation, or Internal Revenue Allotment share, that the province will get from the national government.

Ferrer said the Committee on Finance will immediately schedule hearings for the budgets of departments that need further discussions.

He added that there are departments that may not be summoned by the SP if they do not have big budget proposals for next year’s programs.

What are important are the health programs and projects of the governor’s office in addressing the pandemic and recovery efforts. Departments involved in health, agriculture, engineering, and economic enterprise will also have to explain their proposed budgets, Ferrer said.

The Committee on Finance and the whole SP will prioritize the budget deliberations and target to finish hearings by the second week of November.

Ferrer said if there is an increase of about 20 percent in the 2022 budget, those adjustments will be looked into during the hearings.

Lacson, in his letter to the SP, said that P1,752,715,730, or 30.65 percent of the proposed 2022 budget, has been earmarked for personal services of various Capitol offices. —  MML