BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The P220 million reduction in National Tax Allocation in 2023 may affect the construction of the Cadiz City Hospital and relocation of Bureau of Jail Management and Penology facilities, disclosed reelected Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. yesterday.
Escalante said they are contemplating securing a loan from financial institutions, as one of the options being studied in order to push through with the construction of the City Hospital, adding that he will discuss it with members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod.
“Maybe we can prepare the site at our expense and put up a fence the site using our resources and wait up to 2023,” he added.
But Escalante said the budget cut will not stop the ongoing infrastructure projects of Cadiz City such as the construction of school buildings, road improvements and sports oval, among others.
He also said that they will not touch the financial assistance to the 22 barangays of Cadiz City.
We will sustain the basic services like water pumps and street lights delivered through the barangays, Escalante said.
“The city government will just have to absorb it. So, they will have to perform better,” he stressed.
The reelected mayor of Cadiz City is hopeful that the budget cut will be temporary and can return to the current level.
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson earlier said that the budget cut of local government units may last until 2024.
Escalante said they have started implementing cost cutting measures by retaining only the MOOE (Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses) of the Mayor’s Office.
Negros Occidental and its 32 cities, including highly urbanized Bacolod City will suffer a P3.8 billion budget cut in their NTA next year.
The provincial government NTA share will drop by P782,280,808.*
