P3.05 billion for 2013-2016 DBM: Cebu got the biggest share of BuB budget in CV

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu received the biggest budget for Bottom-up Budgeting (BuB) from 2013 through 2016 among all the provinces in the Visayas, a report from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed.

Cebu received about P3.05 billion from the total P19.98 billion allotted for whole Visayas region for projects first implemented in 2013 and those proposed for 2016 under the government’s participatory budgeting process. Cebu has so far 1,828 BuB projects.

In total, Central Visayas which now comprises of Cebu, Bohol and Siquijor received P5.29 billion for 3,397 projects. Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental which make up the newly-formed Negros Island Region got a total of P3.87 billion for total of  2,773 projects.

Eastern Visayas and Western Visayas received P6.58 billion (for 4,224 projects) and P4.24 billion (for 3,146 projects), respectively, since 2013.

DBM said the 2015 budget has allocated P20.9 billion for the BuB program covering 1,590 municipalities and cities nationwide. A P24.7-billion budget is being proposed in the 2016 National Expenditure Program to support the implementation of more than 14,300 BuB projects nationwide.

“Under the 2015 budget, Visayas received a total of P5.57 billion for 3,634 projects. For 2016, a total of P6.71 billion is proposed to support the implementation of 3,366 projects,” DBM noted in a statement.

Eastern Visayas, which was battered by super typhoon Yolanda in 2013 and is the country’s poorest region, has the highest budget allocation this year at P1.87 billion.

“The BuB allocation for Region VI, VII and Negros Island are P1.28 billion, P1.52 billion and P907 million, respectively,” the Budget agency said.

The Visayas BuB Summit, held in Cebu City from October 6-8, presented the status of the P19.98-billion worth of BuB projects in the region. The discussions focused on strategies to drive participation in the BuB planning process, boost partnership among civil society organizations and local government units and speed up BuB’s implementation.

The BuB process, started by the Aquino government, allows communities and their local governments identify priority projects to be implemented by national government agencies.

Budget Chief Florencio Abad dismissed claims that BuB is a tool for patronage politics, saying it has even strengthened community-decision making.

“The real and concrete outcome of this program is strong democracy and strong communities,” Abad said in the statement. (FREEMAN)