MAJORITY of the Misamis Oriental board members approved Gov. Peter M. Unabia’s P4,326,583,067 budget for next year on Monday afternoon.
Board Member Wayne T. Militante, chair of the Committee on Finance, Budget, and Appropriation, presided over budget deliberation.
Militante confirmed to Gold Star Daily that the proposed budget for 2023 has been approved in the third and final reading. It has been ratified under Provincial Ordinance No 18 -2022, involving the amount of P3,600,686,712 for the general fund and P725,896,355 earmarked for the special accounts.
The next year’s budget is higher only by 2.32 percent as compared to this year’s P4,228,432,242.15 budget, Militante said.
He said the source of funds will be coming from the Local Source (P694,042,520), the National Tax Allotment (P2,089,327,752), and “other revenues” amounting to P1,543,212,795.
“The said budget covers various expenditures of the provincial government of Misamis Oriental and appropriating necessary funds for the purpose,” Militante added.
Unabia’s administration increased its support to eight provincial hospitals for its operations and other activities, from their budget 2022 of P53,311,030.71 to P131,064,000.
The allotment for barangay health workers has been pegged at P12,985,000 from only P9,084,000, last year. While the fund support for the province’s nutrition program has increased from P15,493,119.50 this year to P16,037,000.
In agriculture, the Unabia administration has also increased its support with P71,710,389 earmarked as compared to this year’s P37,667,498.
However, the province has allotted only P100,000 for its program for HIV/AIDS program. A substantial decrease from the P250,000 budget last year despite reports that there are 396 HIV cases in the province as of September, this year.
Board Member Marlon C. Kho said the province’s intelligence fund for next year will be “more or less P100 million.”
