To ensure the region’s fiscal programs and requirements are complete prior to submission to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the House Committee on Mindanao Affairs has started scrutinizing the 2018 budget for Mindanao.
In a news statement, PDP-Laban Rep. Maximo B. Rodriguez Jr. of Cagayan de Oro, panel chairman, said he would make sure government agencies will earmark at least 30 percent of the total budget for Mindanao.
He said these government agencies would conduct public consultations to ensure proper identification and matching of the needs of the people on the ground.
Rodriguez said the committee has already assessed the presentations made by the DBM, the departments of Environment and Natural Resources, Science and Technology (DOST), of Trade and Industry and the Labor and Employment (DOLE) on their proposed allocation for Mindanao next year.
Meanwhile, the departments of the Interior and Local Government and Tourism said their respective departments are still in the process of finalizing the budget proposals for 2018.
DOST Undersecretary for Regional Operations Brenda Nazareth Manzano said the agency will propose a P2.198-billion budget for Mindanao next year.
Of this amount, Manzano said P643.48 million shall fund the undergraduate and graduate scholarship programs of the DOST’s Science Education Institute, while P629.40 million shall fund the repair, rehabilitation and construction of the Philippine Science High School System (PSHS) buildings and facilities in the different regions in Mindanao.
She said the agency’s remaining budget for Mindanao will fund the agency’s research and development programs, rehabilitation of DOST regional offices and upgrading of facilities, capacity-building and other programs of the agency.
DOLE Assistant Secretary Maria Gloria Tango said the agency plans to allot P1.20 billion, which is 37 percent higher than its current year’s budget of P875 million for Mindanao.
Tango said a big part of this budget would go to capital outlay amounting to P200.13 million while P116.74 million will go to maintenance and other operating expenses and P11.24 million to personnel services.
Meanwhile, DTI Assistant Secretary Ameenah Fajardo said the agency’s proposed budget for Mindnao is 29 percent higher than the current year’s budget of P690.95 million.
Fajardo said some of the major projects of DTI to be applied in Mindanao are Negosyo Center which facilitates access to business services such as business registration; shared service facilities which assist micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) acquire tools and equipment specific to their trade.
Fajardo said the agency’s Project Kapatid which involves lectures by large corporations aimed at teaching MSMEs the different aspects of business operations, and linking qualified MSMEs to large companies’ value chains are also included to the major projects of the department.