The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) is aiming to approve the proposed P5.43 billion 2024 annual budget of the Negros Occidental provincial government by the first week of December, Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer said on Tuesday, October 17.
Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson submitted the proposed budget to the SP for review on October 10.
The proposed budget is 5.66 percent higher than the P5.14B budget in 2023, the governor said.
That is because the National Tax Allotment (NTA) share of Negros Occidental will increase in 2024, Lacson pointed out.
The provincial government’s NTA share for 2024 will be P4,904,713,5,44, or an increase by P287,622,099 or 6.23 percent from P4,617,051,4554 this year, the Department of Budget and Management said earlier.
Board Member Rommel Debulgado, SP Committee on Budget and Finance chairman, said he is aiming to conduct committee hearings on the budget in the first and second week of November.
The governor’s budget priority is food security and infrastructure, Debulgado said.
The NTA share of the provincial government dropped by P800 million during the COVID-19 pandemic, and with P287 million to be restored in 2024 there will still be a deficit of about P600 million, Debulgado said.
Hopefully in the coming years that can be recovered as the economy improves, he added.*