BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines – The city council is set to hold a public hearing on the proposed P2.6 billion budget for 2021 on Monday 9 November.
Councilor Cindy Rojas, head of the committee on finance said that during the public hearing, various department heads will present and defend their proposed budget for next year.
The city’s budget for 2021 is 13 percent lower than this year’s P3 billion.
Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia earlier said all the offices will be affected by the decrease on the budget except the Bacolod City Health Office that will remain as a priority.
“All of a sudden because of this pandemic, we have to slow down. For the first time, after a long time, this is a drop of about 13 percent, but I believe this is very understandable,” said Leonardia.
Due to a lesser budget next year, some of the offices will have a cut on their budget such as the fund for their supplies, equipment, and the like.
“Well, overall, all offices are affected except that one policy we did was to make sure the City Health Office will not be affected because that is to tell you how much priority we give to our health concerns,” the mayor said.
Leonardia however said the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of the city remains stable.