55 poor Eastern Visayas LGUs among 600 focus areas in implementation of bottom-up budgeting

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
February 14, 2012

TACLOBAN CITY  –  The Department of Budget and Management informed that at least 55 poor Eastern Visayas LGUs are among the 600 focus areas in the implementation of the bottom-up budgeting, an approach that will incorporate in the budget of key departments the priority requirements of poor local government units.

DBM Regional Director Imelda Laceras said that the 55 poor town and cities were identified by the Cabinet’s Human Development and Poverty Reduction (HDPR) cluster.

Included in the listing released by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) are 22 focus areas in Samar, 15 in Leyte, 12 in Northern Samar, and 6 in Eastern Samar.

Director Laceras disclosed that the identified LGUs should be able to identify poverty reduction program and projects that they cannot fund at the local level.

The national government should be able to extend a lending hand by way of seeing to it that the priority programs of these pilot LGUs will find their way to the budget of concerned agencies, the lady director said.

”The agencies will combine their respective services in poor communities by taking on the prioritized list of projects and programs and incorporating these into their budget proposals for 2013,” Laceras added.

The early initiation of the bottom-up planning process will ensure that the needs of the poor municipalities will be adequately funded in the 2013 budget.

The identified municipalities were selected based on factors that include the magnitude of the poor in the municipalities, number of population minus number of poor, amount needed to be mobilized every year to eradicate poverty in the area, and the density of the poor by province.

Other factors which are taken to consideration are areas enrolled in the Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) and Kapangyarihan at Kaunlaran sa Barangay expansion areas and the conflict- affected municipalities listed under the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.

In Samar, the identified LGUs are Basey, Calbayog City, Calbiga, Catbalogan City, Daram, Gandara, Hinabangan, Jiabong, Marabut, Matuguinao, Motiong, Paranas, Pinabacdao, San Jorge, San Jose de Buan, Sta. Margarita, Sta. Rita, Sto. Niño, Tagapul-an, Tarangnan, Villareal, and Zumarraga.

Identified areas in Eastern Samar include Arteche, Dolores, General Macarthur, Llorente, Oras, and Quinapondan.

Meanwhile the identified areas in Leyte include the towns of Abuyog, Alangalang, Albuera, Babatngon, Barugo, Burauen, Calubian, Carigara, Dagami, Dulag, Hilongos, Jaro, Matalom, Tanauan, and Villaba.

Identified Northern Samar municipalities are Bobon, Catarman, Catubig, Gamay, Las Navas, Lavezares, Lope de Vega, Mapanas, San Isidro, San Jose, San Roque, and Silvino Lobos.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said, in his recent visit here, that the national government will be providing next year an additional budget of P8 million to P12 million to each identified poor area in the country under the new approach.

The financial assistance that will be channeled through concerned national government agencies is at least up by 20% than the annual allocation that these poor municipalities have been receiving in the past years.

In line with the present administration’s goal to reduce poverty and achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, the national government will begin instituting a “bottom-up” approach to the ongoing 2013 budget preparation process.

Secretary Florencio B. Abad said that budget preparations will be guided by needs identified at the grassroots level, so that the 2013 budget will most decidedly be a people-centric budget, aimed not just at the proper allocation of resources, but also at the substantial reduction of poverty.

The DBM will invite an initial set of agencies to spearhead the new approach. These are the Rural Development agencies (Departments of Agriculture, Agrarian Reform, and Environment and Natural Resources) and Conditional Cash Transfer Program agencies (Departments of Social Welfare and Development, Education, and Health).

”The agencies will combine their respective services in poor communities by taking on the prioritized list of projects and programs and incorporating these into their budget proposals for 2013,” Laceras added.

Early initiation of the bottom-up planning process will ensure that the needs of the poor municipalities will be adequately funded in the 2013 budget.

To recall, Budget and Management Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad said, in his recent visit here, that national government will begin instituting a “bottom-up” approach to the ongoing 2013 budget preparation process.