Cebu gov't faces budget cuts

The Cebu provincial government is facing cutbacks in its budget after acting Gov. Agnes Magpale approved P3.259 billion this year, 11 percent lower than last year's budget and P400 million less than the P3.67 billion proposed by the executive department.

Magpale, who became acting governor after Gov. Gwen Garcia was suspended for grave abuse of authority, slashed the budget for the governor's office to P599.535 million from the P710.047-million proposed allocation, while the vice governor's office budget was cut from P62.091 million to P59.315 million.

The budget allocation for the governor's intelligence fund was reduced to P5 million from the proposed P25 million, while the budget for the Expanded Green and Wholesome Environment that Nurtures program (e-Gwen) was cut by half to P15 million.

The budget for Pasigarbo sa Sugbu was slashed from P15 million to P5 million, while the provincial tourism program, Suroy-Suroy sa Sugbu, was also cut to P3 million from the original P7.6 million.

Local promotions, conferences and congresses will get P10 million instead of P12.5 million, while for international promotions, the budget was halved to P5 million.

Magpale said the budget for maintenance and other operating expenses was cut by 20 percent, while the allocation for basic services remained the same.

The legislative assistance fund of provincial board members was also cut from P5 million to P1 million, while allocation for personal services was unchanged.