DAVAO City––Mindanao will get P380 billion out of the P3.002 trillion approved national budget for 2016, an official of the Mindanao Development Authority (Minda) said.
Mindanao’s share this year is 12.7 percent of the national budget. Compared to last year’s P302.4 billion share, the island’s budget increased by 25.7 percent this year.
Northern Mindanao – composed of Camiguin, Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Lanao del Norte, and Bukidnon – will receive the highest chunk at P78.53 billion, having the biggest contribution to Mindanao’s growth, said Romeo Montenegro, director for Investment Promotion, International Relations and Public Affairs of MinDA.
“On account of strong contribution to Mindanao growth, it has the biggest share in terms of the need for infrastructure to accelerate further its output in agriculture,” he said during the Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City on Monday.
Davao Region (Davao City, Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, Davao Occidental, Compostela Valley, and Davao Oriental) will receive the second highest budget at 67.6 billion.
The Zamboanga Peninsula, composed of the three Zamboanga provinces, will get P66.61 million.
The Soccsksargen – which consists of South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and General Santos City – will receive P63.2 billion.
The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) will get P53.47 billion.
The Caraga Region (Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, and Dinagat Islands provinces) will get P51.74 billion.
Montenegro added that most of the budget of Armm and Caraga will be allocated for social sector component.
“In areas where you need to focus on social services, that’s where you should give and pour in infrastructure projects,” he added.
This is the highest share that Mindanao received under the administration of President Aquino, according to Montenegro.
“Mindanao can expect an increase in the budget this year in so far as we’ve been getting sustained increase in the budget allocation since the start of this administration,” he said.
“We’ve seen an increase in the government spending particularly in major areas. This will translate to more roads, bridges, and other major infrastructure projects constructed to be able to address Mindanao connectivity requirements,” he said.
Disclaimer
Mindanao Gold Star Daily holds the copyrights of all articles and photos in perpetuity. Any unauthorized reproduction in any platform, electronic and hardcopy, shall be liable for copyright infringement under the Intellectual Property Rights Law of the Philippines.
