Cebu budget for 2018 passed

CEBU CITY – The Cebu Provincial Board approved on third and final reading the R4.5 billion budget for 2018, up by R900 million from this year’s budget.

Board Member Celestino Martinez III, the chairman of the committee on budget and appropriations, said there were no major changes to the budget although he “felt like some departments should have been given a little bit more of help considering the gravity of their programs.”

Martinez said that if needed, the board can always come up with a supplementary budget.

The provincial government’s health programs got the biggest share with R1.4 billion.

The Office of the Governor followed with R745.1 million, which is R130 million higher than Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III’s allocation this year.

R 649.9 million was set aside for the provincial’s developmental fund.

Among the big-ticket appropriations:

•The Office of the Provincial Administrator (R199.7 million)

•Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (R197.6 million)

•Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (R150.1 million)

•Sangguniang Panlalawigan (R142.9 million)

•Provincial General Services Office (R138 million)

•Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (R124.7 million).

The Provincial Cooperative Office got the smallest share, R9.1 million.

Just recently, the board also approved a R155-million supplemental budget for this year.

Through its third supplemental budget this year, R135.4 million will go to the province’s development fund, R19.8 million for the operations of 16 provincial and district hospitals, and R300,000 for the Cebu South Bus Terminal.

The total budget also covers the R31 million allocated for the incentive of provincial employees.

Provincial Budget Officer Danilo Rodas said the R20,000 bonus for each employee was agreed on by the provincial Government and Provincial Employees Association of Cebu.

“We came up with the said amount based on our available savings” due to cost-cutting measures and systems improvements, Rodas said.

All provincial regular and casual employees are entitled to the incentive provided their contract does not end before December 15. The provincial government has more than 1,500 employees.

Each employees will get an additional R5,000 as performance enhancement incentive, depending on Davide’s decision, Rodas added.

Elected officials will receive the bonus, but not job order employees.

Rodas said they may only get their share if President Duterte once again issues an executive order making contractual, job order, and project-based workers as cash gifts recipients.

Last year, Duterte gave out R2,000 each to more than 100,000 non-regular workers.

Under the Civil Service Commission’s guidelines, only the regular and casual plantilla workers are entitled to bonuses such as the 13th and 14th month pay.