Cagayan de Oro 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez is prodding President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to increase the allocation for Mindanao in next year’s national budget by at least five percent, or by P286 billion.
“We request President Marcos to include this commitment in his first State of the Nation Address on Monday (July 25),” Rodriguez said in a statement on Tuesday, July 19.
He said Mindanao is entitled to additional funds “because based on the 2020 census, it had residents totaling 26.3 million, or 24 percent of the country’s population of 109.6 million".
“We contribute 17 percent of the nation’s yearly total output of products and services,” the veteran solon underscored.
Rodriguez, a deputy speaker during the previous 18th Congress, pointed out that Mindanao was allocated a measly 13 percent or roughly P650 billion in this year’s national budget.
“If our island receives five percent more next year, or 18 percent of a possible P5.2-trillion budget, our total allocation would come up to P936 billion, or an additional P286 billion. That would go a long way in helping our people and developing our region,” he stressed.
He added that the President could likewise include in his first SONA the following projects for Mindanao:
- Immediate funding for the P83-billion, 102-kilometer first phase (Tagum-Davao City-Digos) of the planned first phase of the Mindanao railway;
- Faster implementation of programs for coconut farmers under the Coconut Trust Fund Law (Republic Act No. 11524);
- Completion of the rehabilitation of Marawi City; and
- Final peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) for lasting peace in Mindanao.