• THERESA MAE DULMAN
The deliberations on the P4.75 billion proposed annual budget for Bacolod City in 2026 formally started on Wednesday, as the Sangguniang Panlungsod approved the measure on its first reading.
The proposed P4.75 billion spending plan represents a P350 million increase over the 2025 budget.
Councilor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, committee chair on Appropriations, Budget, and Finance, confirmed the figures, noting that the largest percentage of the budget is earmarked for essential programs such as medical assistance, scholarships, and various forms of aid.
The proposed annual budget is an increase of 7.96 percent compared to the P4.4 billion budget of 2025.
“Our annual budget increases, our population also increases, so practically the increase of budget is enough to cover the increase in population,” Sayson said.
Key proposed allocations, according to the major expense classes, include P2,016,801,858 for Maintenance and Other Operating Expenditures that consumed 42 percent of the proposed budget.
Twenty-four percent of the budget goes to Personal Services amounting to P1,149,410,379.
The Special Purpose Appropriation will have P661,076,000 or 14 percent of the proposed budget, while the 11 percent is allocated to the 20 percent Development Fund amounting to P515,737,755.
Meanwhile, the 6 percent will be earmarked to Financial Expenses of P271,204,008, while the remaining three percent is for Property, Plant, and Equipment totaling P135,770,000.
A public hearing on the proposal is set after the MassKara Festival, with the Sangguniang Panlungsod aiming for final approval by December 15, with the deadline set on December 31.
Sayson said that they have the whole month of November to schedule the hearings for every committee.*
