BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The provincial government of Negros Occidental is bracing for the reduction of its National Tax Allocation by 14 percent in 2023.
While the NTA of Negros Occidental rose by 16 percent this year because of the Mandanas-Garcia ruling of the Supreme Court that increases local government units’ share of all national taxes, Provincial Administrator Atty. Rayfrando Diaz however said it is expected to drop by 14 percent next year due to a reduction in the collection of taxes by government revenue agencies.
With this development, Diaz reported that the MOOE (Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses) of the province will be reduced by P600 million next year.
Under Local Budget Memorandum 85, the Department of Budget and Management said the NTA for LGUs would reduce by 138.77 billion, from P959 billion this year to P820.27 billion the following year.
Diaz said that all Capitol departments are bracing for cost cutting in the budgets of their MOOE, which will be implemented next year.
The cost cutting measures will cover travel and seminars, purchase of supplies and electricity consumption, among others, he added.
Despite the budget cut, LGUs have been ordered by the DBM to sustain their financing for pandemic response, such as prevention measures against COVID-19 and additional support for health workers.
Under the Local Government Code of 1991, local governments are entitled to a 40-percent portion of national internal revenue taxes.*
