Mayor issues budget call

BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio Domogan has issued a budget call for all department heads to begin the preparation of the executive budget for 2016.
The mayor issued Budget Memorandum Circular No. 2015-1 prepared by city budget officer Leticia Clemente setting the guidelines in the preparation and submission of the budget proposals for next year.
As in the past, the mayor is expected to convene the City Development Council which will screen the priority programs and projects and come up with the Annual Investment Plan (AIP) to list the projects that will be funded in next year’s budget.
In the circular, the mayor named six bases as framework for the 2016 budget.
First is the bottom-up budgeting approach which aims to engage “grassroots communities, basic sector organizations and civil society when allocating resources to ensure that the development needs of the community are considered.”
“Further, this approach increases ‘citizens’ access to local service delivery through a demand-driven budget planning process’ while it strengthens ‘government accountability in local public service provision.’”
The use of the Public Financial Management Assessment Tool (PFMAT) is also encouraged to evaluate the effectiveness of programs with the goal of providing quality service with the least cost and fund programs beneficial to the people in a cost effective manner.
Budgeting should also be performance based through the establishment of clear target for all the plans, programs and activities (PPAs) based on which the performance of the departments will be rated, monitored and evaluated.
The departments were also advised to identify and prioritize in their budget proposals PPAs for climate change, align their PPAs to the five priority areas pursuant to Executive Order No. 43 series of 2011 namely anti-corruption/ transparent, accountable and participatory governance; poverty reduction and empowerment of the poor and vulnerable; rapid, inclusive and sustained economic growth; just and lasting peace and the rule of law; and integrity of the environment and climate change mitigation; and include PPAs that promote gender and development, rights of senior citizens and persons with disabilities, protection of children and for the prevention of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
As per the circular, a preliminary budget forum will be conducted on August 11 with the civil society organizations (CSOs).
The departments will prepare the PPAs with corresponding detailed estimates from August 12 to Sept. 15 but departments will have to submit their proposal budgets to the local finance committee on Aug. 17 while budget hearings with the CSOs will be conducted from Aug. 18-27.  Three days after the hearing, the departments will have to submit the final departmental budget proposals.
The LFC will finalize the 2016 budget estimates from Sept. 28 to Oct. 9.  The mayor is expected to approve it by Oct. 10 before its submission to the city council on Oct. 16 for deliberation.