๐๐๐๐จ๐๐ขโ๐ฆ ๐ฏ-๐๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ก ๐๐จ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฉ๐๐
On October 7, 2024, the Baguio City Council approved the city governmentโs budget for Fiscal Year 2025, totaling P3,000,692,000.00. This reflects a 9.3% increase from the P2,745,274,171.00 appropriations for Fiscal year 2024.
This amount was outlined in the Local Expenditure Program (LEP) submitted by the executive department which also details the allocation for 32 city government offices and one non-office entity. However, the city council has only approved the income portion of the LEP so far. The specific budget allocations for each office remain under review by designated city council members and will be deliberated further before final approval.
The 2025 approved budget is sourced from various revenue streams. The beginning balance is estimated at P150 million, contributing 5% to the total budget. This is projected from possible over-collections, unspent funds, and savings from 2024.
The local or internal sources make up P1,185,130,000.00 which represents 39.50% of the total budget. Of this, tax revenue contributes P708,380,000.00 while non-tax revenue amounts to P476,750,000.00.
The largest portion of the budget, 55.39%, comes from external or national sources, totaling P1,665,562,999.00. This includes the cityโs share from National Tax Allotment at P1,462,062,000.00, share from Economic Zones at P200 million, and a smaller portion of P3.5 million from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes.
According to City Budget Officer Leticia Clemente, while there has not been a significant increase in the cityโs regular income, the beginning balance has been increased to achieve the P3 billion target.
For next yearโs budget, as reflected in the LEP, the city government has accounted for salary adjustments under Salary Standardization Law (SSL) VI and the provision of a P7,000.00 medical allowance for both permanent and casual employees.
Education also receives attention with an incremental increase for the College Educational Assistance Grant Program to ensure continued aid to qualified students.
A significant social welfare initiative is the P1,000.00 monthly cash subsidy for solo parents earning minimum wage or less as mandated by RA 7160 and certain provisions of RA 11861.
Further financial support extends to barangays, with subsidies increasing from P30,000.00 to P60,000.00.
On infrastructure and environmental sustainability, P30 million is allocated to purchase six dump trucks for waste management.
Additional employee benefits, such as terminal leave payments for retiring elective and coterminous employees included, are also included, amounting to P28.5 million.
Cultural and civic celebrations are noted with a P2.5 million budget for the 34th Anniversary of the Cordillera Day.
Priority development projects, valued at P297.4 million, focus on road development, sewer lines rehabilitation, multi-purpose building construction, and various barangay-level projects.
The city council aims to complete the entire budget deliberation process by November 15, 2024. –Jordan G. Habbiling
