DAVAO CITY – This city will have a proposed budget of P9.8 billion for 2021, which will be 4.85-percent lower compared to the P10.3-billion budget for this year, according to Mayor Sara Duterte.
Duterte explained the lower expenditure fund was due to the lower revenue collections expected amid the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
She said, in an interview over Davao City Disaster Radio, the lower budget proposal for next year would have a bearing on the implementation of some infrastructure projects.
“What will happen? There is no major harm that will happen, but we expect lesser projects that we can implement next year,” she said.
She said the local government put the estimated revenue losses at P854 million.
She said the internal revenue allotment (IRA), the share of the local government unit (LGU) from the revenues of the national government, would comprise P397 million of the total proposed budget.
She said the proposed budget has yet to be deliberated upon in the Sangguniang Panlungsod, which approves budget proposals of the local government.
She said the Davao City Central 911 was expected to get the biggest chunk of the proposed budget among offices of the city government because it has the most number of employees.
She said the budget would be used to fund projects proposed in her 10-priority agenda, such as peace and order, infrastructure development, transportation planning and traffic management, disaster risk reduction and mitigation, poverty alleviation, solid waste management, agriculture, health, education, and tourism.
“We will continue the projects, although we will have fewer infrastructure projects,” she said.
Duterte said the local government has a quick response fund of over P100 million, which could be utilized until the end of this year.
She said most of the budget that the local government utilized for COVID-19 crisis response came from the Bayanihan grant, City Mayor’s Office, and Public Service Enhancement program of the local government.
Last April 16, the city government received P462 million from the Bayanihan grant.