P8-B Budget for P’gasinan in 2026

 A SPIKE OF P1-B FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR'S BUDGET

By Mortz C. Ortigoza, MPA

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – The provincial government of Pangasinan will have an P8 billion annual appropriation budget in year 2026, according to Vice Governor Mark Ronald Lambino. 

“Pinasa po natin on first reading iyong proposed annual budget ng Lalawigan ng Pangasinan this is amounting a little over P8 billion. It is an increase of about a billion for the 2025 annual budget. Tapos ito po ay nasa Committee ng Appropriation ngayon,” Lambino told recently reporters here.

 

PANGASINAN Governor Ramon V. Guico III (3rd from left front row) signs a document while Vice Governor Mark Ronald Lambino (2nd from left front row), and some provincial lawmakers witness the official act of the governor. 

He added that come end of November this year that mammoth budget will be passed by the provincial lawmakers.

“Na para para pagdating ng December ay nakalatag na rin ang lahat ng preparasyon for 2016”.

BUDGETING

He said the personnel services budget has the biggest chunk in the 2026 appropriation.

The Local Government Code of 1991 provided that “The total appropriations, whether annual or supplemental, for personal services of a local government unit for one (1) fiscal year shall not exceed forty-five percent (45%) in the case of first to third class provinces,…”.

The forty-forty towns and three cities provincial government of Pangasinan is a first class province.

 “We also have ngayon budget pagdating po sa health at tuloy tuloy po ang program ng ating probinsiya pagdating po sa entire (inaudible) and health care. Ganoon din po sa education ang agriculture, iyon po ang na prioritized doon po sa 2026 budget. These are in line with what we have started in the first term of Governor Monmon Guico kung saan po focus po tayo sa pagdevelop ng mga pundasyon ng iba’t iba pong sector natin”.

He said the 15 provincial government hospitals are still funded by the Capitol contrary to the rumors perpetrated by misinformed people that they will be privatized. “Iyong economic enterprises po ay pinagaaralan po ngayon doon sa hospital saka sa PPC that is iyong pinasa natin na isang Resolution noon na convert po ang ilang hospital natin sa economic enterprises”.

Just like the hospitals, the Pangasinan Polytechnic College (PPC) will continue to be subsidized by the provincial government.

                                                    PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS

“It is just a matter of inquiry madali po ang mekanismo ng pagpasok ng additional na funding para pagdating po sa ating mga institusyon tulad po ng PPC at ganoon din po sa ating hospital. So ang kuwan pa rin dito is to deliver the best health care the province will provide at no cost sa ating mga kababayan”.

He said that part of the P8 billion will cover for the tranches of the P4.3 billion loan the province borrowed from the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) in October 25, 2023. The loan is part of the P6 billion omnibus term loan agreement signed by the Guico Administration and the state-run bank earlier of 2023 to fund the priority development projects in Pangasinan. 

Of the P4.3 billion loan, P1.8 billion is earmarked for the construction of an 11-storey government center at the Capitol here. It is designed to house the offices of the provincial government and national government agencies. Another P500 million is allocated for the development of the Provincial Capitol Complex. To provide better health care for Pangasinenses, P758 million would be used for the purchase of advanced hospital equipment, including computed tomography (CT) scanners, x-ray, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ultrasound machines for the Pangasinan Provincial Hospital, six district hospitals and seven community hospitals in the Province. Meanwhile, P700 million is set to fund the acquisition of land and construction of support facilities for the Bolinao airport in Bolinao, Pangasinan. The remaining P500 million will help establish a corporate center for businesses and other commercial spaces to help stimulate local economic activity.

Lambino said aside from the National Tax Allocation (the successor of the Internal Revenue Allotment) given by the central government, the P8 billion budget is buttressed by loan, donation(s) to the provincial government and sales of its assets.

“So obligado po nakalagay po iyon kasi dapat babayaran lahat ng expenses doon sa kikitain ng isang LGU”.

Budgeting covers current operating expenditures and capital outlays. Current operating expenditures cover short-term government expenses for goods and services used within a fiscal year, like salaries and supplies. Capital outlays are long-term investments in assets that provide benefits for over a year, such as infrastructure or equipment purchases.