BACOLOD CITY – The city government has proposed a P3.6-billion budget for 2024.
Mayor Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez, in a press briefing at the Bacolod City Government Center on Monday, September 25, said that they have finished budget deliberations with all the department heads last week.

MAYOR Alfredo Abelardo ‘Albee’ Benitez (second from left) answers questions from the media during a press briefing at the MassKara Hall of the Bacolod City Government Center on Monday, September 25. (Glazyl Masculino)
“The way we approach the 2024 budget, we started from the bottom. We removed all the non-recurring expenses that are not salary-related, among others,” he added.
Benitez said that all the division and departments started presenting their proposed budget. “They have to defend it otherwise, we move to the next one,” he added.
He said that they wanted to prioritize what is really needed and what the city is currently spending. “We build from that and we have innovations that we have discussed,” he added.
Benitez said that the proposed budget is a little higher than the previous years, particularly the 2022 and 2023 budget each amounting to P3.250 billion.
He said that the city’s share from the national government or the national allotment was reduced by P300 million but it was covered by their initiatives in the local revenues.
“It was a long process of deliberation and budget leveling off with the expectation and goals and objectives of this administration,” he added.
The mayor said they will finalize the proposed budget by the first week of October for approval of the City Council.
Benitez said that the biggest share in the budget will go to social services and the health department.
He also said that the proposed budget will not affect the hiring of job order workers here.