QUEZON CITY – Northern Mindanao’s legislative district representatives scrutinized the P406.10 billion budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 of 42 agency regional offices (AROs), instrumentalities, government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), and ten state universities and colleges (SUCs).
The region's congresspersons went over the catalytic projects and ARO/GOCC/SUC imperatives covering mandates and forwarding social, macro administration, economic, and infrastructure development priorities for next year during the 1st Semester 2024 RDC-X Advisory Committee Meeting on March 6 at the Romualdez Hall, Batasang Pambansa, Batasan Hills, Quezon City
The Infrastructure and Utilities Development Sector holds the lion’s share of the projected budget at P266.04 billion (65.5%). The Social Development Sector’s share stands at P112.46 billion (27.7%), the Economic Development Sector at P25.97 billion (6.4%), and the Macro and Development Administration Sector has P1.63 billion (0.4%)
“Acknowledging that our Congresspersons hold the key to accessing the power of the purse, our meeting today aims to enlist the support of all Region X Congresspersons for the budget proposals until its consideration in the FY 2025 General Appropriations Act,” opened Lanao del Norte Provincial Governor Imelda Quibranza-Dimaporo, the RDC-X chairperson.
The regional budgeting exercises started with the Regional Budget Forum on January 29, 2024. They will continue with handholding activities, civil society consultations, and meetings of the four RDC-X Sector Committees until March 1, 2024.
“We count on your continued commitment as the vanguards of our region's priorities, particularly in shepherding our FY 2025 Regional Budget Proposals. We'd also like to thank you for your tireless efforts and support throughout the previous year's budget process," added Governor Dimaporo.
The meeting was co-convened by Rufus B. Rodriguez, Cagayan de Oro City 2nd District Representative, and sponsored by Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, House Speaker and Leyte 1st District Representative.
It is the last consultation before the RDC-X Full Council Meeting within the first quarter of 2024, wherein the final versions of the budget proposals will be reviewed and endorsed to the agency's central offices and the Department of Budget and Management for consideration in the FY 2025 National Expenditure Program.
The total approved budget of the region under the FY 2024 General Appropriations Act was P123.02 billion, an approval rate of 27.6 percent from the P446.35 billion RDC-X endorsed budget. (NEDA-X/PIA-10)
