BAGUIO CITY – City officials recently mandated the adoption, implementation and strict adherence to the barangay budgeting system by all the city’s one hundred twenty eight barangays for the preparation of their respective annual barangay budgets and other related purposes starting with the calendar year 2025.
Under Resolution No. 391, series of 2024, local legislators stated that to assist and prepare barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials, secretaries, treasurers and chairpersons of the committee on appropriations for the system’s adoption and implementation, a series of orientation workshops on the barangay budgeting system was conducted in four batches that have recently concluded.
The council claimed that leveraging technology in the preparation of barangay budgets enhances accuracy, efficiency and transparency.
Further, digital tools streamline data collection and analysis, facilitate real-time monitoring, and enable better collaboration and communication leading to more effective budget management and decision making.
Earlier, the local government, through the City Budget office, initiated the development of the barangay budgeting system to empower barangays to effectively utilize the system and facilitate a seamless and uniform process and procedural framework for the preparation of barangay budgets.
The City Budget Office recently said that the city’s one hundred twenty-eight barangays play a crucial role in bringing about economic stability.
City Budget Officer lawyer Leticia O. Clemente claimed that one way of realizing the said role is capacitating barangay officials on financial management.
She added the monies flowing into the city’s barangay coffers amount to P653 million, 87 percent of which comes from their share from the national government’s National Tax Allocation (NATA) and only 13 percent is derived from barangay sources.
The city budget officer claimed that the aforesaid amount is not actually much but if funds at the barangay level are managed efficiently through timely appropriation and approval of their respective annual budgets, this will go a long way to supplement the city’s annual budget.
Clemente pointed out that every year, only about 10 percent of the city’s barangays have approved and reviewed budgets at the beginning of the budget year, thus, the city budget office conducted an orientation workshop to deploy the barangay budgeting system last month.
Copies of the approved resolution will be transmitted to the city’s 128 barangays for information, guidance, ready reference and further needed action. By Dexter A. See
