P200M DISASTER BUDGET APPROVED
The Provincial Development Council also okays P9 billion Annual Investment Plan for Cebu
The Provincial Development Council (PDC) approved the P200 million requested by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) for next year.
This is part of the P9.8 billion Annual Investment Program (AIP) approved by the PDC during its third quarter meeting at the Capitol yesterday.
Provincial Planning and Development Office officer-in-charge Rodel Bontuyan explained that bigger projects will be endorsed to the Regional Development Council 7 so that these will be included in the General Appropriations Act of 2019. The smaller projects will be endorsed to the Cebu Provincial Board for approval.
Of the P200 million proposed by the PDRRMO, P96 million will be for disaster prevention and mitigation while close to P34 million will be for disaster preparedness. Another P60 million will be allotted for quick response and P10 million will be for recovery and rehabilitation.
PDRRMO head Baltazar Tribunalo said that the 2019 proposed budget is bigger than the current budget by P19 million.
During the same PDC meeting, Gov. Hilario Davide III, who also chairs the council, presented the projects, programs and activities that are part of the P9.08 billion AIP for 2019.
Of the proposed P9 billion budget, over P5 billion will be for regular operating expenditures and programs under the executive and legislative branches, health offices under the Capitol, Cebu South Bus Terminal and fund for the PDRRMO. About P687 million will be
sourced from the Province’s 20 percent share of the Internal Revenue Allotment while over P3.2 billion will be taken from other Capitol sources.
In the same gathering, PDC approved the P160.7 billion 10-year Provincial Development Investment Program, which will be from 2019-2028. The long-term program will still need the approval of the Provincial Board.
Bontuyan said that the proposed projects and programs were recommended by the different stakeholders coming from the academe, civil society organizations, private sector, people’s organizations, national government agencies, mayors and from the results of consolidated workshops done last March.
“This is a participatory governance,” said Bontuyan in Bisaya. “So all stakeholders should have a perspective that we consider, and then we processed the information. We will look for a way to find other funding sources for projects that still need funding.”