BONTOC, Mountain Province – The proposed 2018 budgets of some fourteen regional line agencies and six state universities and colleges (SUCs) totaling P55.3 billion were endorsed by the Cordillera Regional Development Council (RDC-CAR) to the concerned officials for consideration and inclusion in the national budget next year.
The proposed P55.3 billion budget of the 14 regional line agencies and 6 SUCs is 233 percent higher than the approved budget of the said agencies and SUCs amounting to P34.32 billion for this year.
The RDC-CAR noted in its endorsements that their agencies in the region are considered key government officers in charge of and expected to implement major strategic development interventions to attain the sector and sub-sector outcomes in the regional development plan 2017-2022.
Pursuant to budget Memorandum No. 127 dated December 28, 2016, which provides for a two-tier budgeting approach composed of on-going and existing programs or projects for Tier 1 and new spending proposals and expansion of on-going or existing programs for Tier 2, the RDC-CAR conducted budget consultations with the concerned regional line agencies and SUCs on March 13-14, 2017 focusing on Tier 2.
The RDC-CAR subsequently reviewed and validated the Tier 2 programs or projects and found them to respond to poverty reduction, minimizing climate and geo-hazard vulnerabilities, implementing the CAR regional development plan 2017-2022, and therefore, considered the said proposed budget to be socially responsive and relevant to the Cordillera development objectives.
For this year, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) regional office has a proposed budget of P14.65 billion, Department of Health – P1.82 billion, Department of Education – P11.00 billion, Department of Tourism – P21.48 million, Department of Social Welfare and Development – P3.13 billion, Department of Labor and Employment – 112 million, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority – P139.16 million, Department of the Interior and Local government – P169.65 million, Department of Trade and Industry – P129.36 million, Department of Science and Technology – 98.76 million, Department of Agriculture – P1.27 billion, Department of Agrarian Reform – P220.00 million, Department of Environment and Natural Resources – P1.9 billion and Department of Transportation and Railways P57.3 million.
For SUCs, the Abra State Institute of Science and Technology has a proposed 2018 budget of P224.58 million, Apayao State College – P166.22 million, Benguet State University (BSU) – 658.65 million, Ifugao State University – 327.96 million, Kalinga State University – 268.20 million and Mountain Province State Polytechnic College – 284.99 million.
The RDC-CAR will issue separate resolutions for the endorsed budget of the concerned government agencies and SUCs to be submitted to their respective central offices for consideration in the finalization of their budgets next year.
By HENT
