BUDGET HEARING. Provincial Board Member Donald Nicolas, chair of the Committee on Appropriations, presides over the first day of the hearing for the provincial government’s proposed PHP2.3 billion budget for 2024 on Tuesday (Nov. 14, 2023). The amount is higher than this year’s PHP2.1 billion budget. (PNA photo by Leilanie Adriano)
LAOAG CITY – Ilocos Norte’s Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Board) on Tuesday began its deliberations on the provincial government’s proposed PHP2.3 billion budget for 2024 to have adequate time to assess the expenditure and financial program.
"All the concerned departments were given time to defend their proposed budgetary requirements,” said Provincial Board Member Donald Nicolas, who chairs the Committee on Appropriation.
The amount is higher than this year’s PHP2.1 billion budget.
“Through the help of the Committee on Finance and Appropriation, the proposed budget of the provincial government of Ilocos Norte will be scrutinized in accordance with previously issued budget circulars,” Nicolas said, adding that the budget hearing might last up to three days.
During the budget hearing, provincial treasurer Josephine Calajate said the total estimated revenue for next year is PHP2.31 billion, up by 7.47 percent from this year’s PHP2.15 billion.
She said the province’s share of the national tax allocation amounts to PHP1.8 billion, higher by 5.8 percent or about PHP102 million from this year’s level.
With the implementation of the revised provincial revenue code, Calajate said, the Provincial Local Finance Committee expects to collect about PHP88.6 million, or an increase of 2.13 percent, compared to the current year’s PHP86.7 million target.
With the continuing dredging of silted rivers and the extended estate tax amnesty of the Bureau of Internal Revenue until June 30, 2025, Calajate said the target collection of sand and gravel and real property transfer tax has also increased.
Data presented during the hearing showed that the projected revenue from real property tax next year is PHP76.5 billion, up from this year’s PHP75 million target while it is projected to rise to PHP7.55 million from this year’s PHP7.5 million for the sand and gravel and other quarry resources.
In an interview before the hearing started, Governor Matthew Joseph Manotoc said he would prioritize the health, welfare, and livelihood of the people, hence, adding more budget to strengthen health services and boost the local economy.
"In the years to come, we shall rebuild a safer, stronger, and more prosperous province. A province that illuminates the young, equips the farmer and empowers the small business owner. A province proud of its past yet fully committed to its future," he said. (PNA)
