P50 billion for water containment

CEBU, Philippines —  Half of Cebu City's proposed P100-billion annual budget for 2024 is for the construction of a water containment system in the upland areas of the city to combat climate change, particularly flooding in the lowland barangays.

This was part of the budget breakdown given by Atty. Jerone Castillo, city budget officer, during a press conference last Friday.

"Matod pa sa tong city planning (office), ang ato kunong drainage was designed in the 1980s with wala kaayo na-compute ang consideration sa climate change. Niingon sila nga atong usbon ang sistema nga ma-take into account ang climate change," Castillo said.

He said their assessment with the City's Task Force Gubat sa Baha showed that combat against flooding is essentially a fight against climate change, and this requires more budget.

Other allocations in the proposed budget include funds for "food security" to address the El Niño (dry spell) threat, which Castillo said is "pivotal in securing the preparedness for the people".

He further said that the P100-billion budget includes spending for "Transformational Governance" to realize the vision of a Singapore-like Cebu City, particularly engineering interventions in the mountain barangays.

"It is more than innovative, it is transformational," Castillo said.

In the same press conference, City Administrator Collin Rosell also mentioned housing projects, supply of potable water, education and awareness, reforestation, integration of green building technology, and smart city initiatives to support agriculture, businesses and the economy,  as 2024 annual budget items .

In line with the huge annual budget proposal, Rama called on the public to pay the right amount of taxes so the City Government can realize its targets, for the "gain" of allCEBU, Philippines —  B

During its regular session Wednesday last week, the Cebu City Council referred the annual budget proposal to the Committee on Budget and Finance. (CEBU NEWS)