The Visayas needs a more than P150 billion allocation for infrastructure in the 2024 national budget as its equitable share, Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardro Benitez said Monday, July 3.
Benitez, who was recently appointed Regional Development Council chairman for the whole Visayas, said the mandate of the position is to ensure that the resources being allocated by the national government are properly and fairly distributed so there is no disparity of resources.
Benitez said the budget for 2023 shows that the appropriation for the Visayas only accounts for 11 percent of the total national budget.
He said during his meeting with the Visayan congressmen he told them that it is incumbent upon them to lobby for a fair share in the national budget.
This is needed so the Visayas is not left behind, he said.*