THE 20TH City Council approved on the third and final reading on Tuesday the P14.3 billion General Fund Annual Budget and Plantilla of the City Government for 2025.
The P14,300,449,654 budget has increased by 12.28% compared to the 2024 budget of P12,735,450,908.
Councilor Myrna Dalodo-Ortiz, proponent and Committee on Finance, Ways, and Appropriations chairman, the budget is aligned with the mandate and response to the community’s needs. “The city government of Davao affirms its commitment to optimize available resources,” she said.
“It likewise emphasizes the responsible and prudent utilization of these resources, ensuring the allocated amounts were justified and aligned with the intended purposes and mandates,” the ordinance reads.
The budget comprises funds under the general fund proper, the economic enterprises for the operations of markets, slaughterhouses, Sta. Ana port, cemeteries, Davao City Recreation Center, Magsaysay Park, and the Annual Development Fund.
The annual appropriation for the general fund proper is P12,372,717,593; for the development fund is P1,765,628,236; and the economic enterprises amount to P162,103,825.
For the general fund proper, the City Mayor’s Office is the highest with P5,147,300,595 billion; City Social Welfare and Development Office comes next with P1,098,502,949 billion; City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office with P924,531,393 million, City Health Office with P869, 740,592 million, and City Environment and Natural Resources Office with P867,911,822 million.
The general fund covers expenditures for personal services, maintenance, and other operating expenses and capital outlays of various departments.
The City Mayor’s Office receives the largest share of the budget “because of its extensive structure with multiple offices and programs.”
The highlights of the office include an additional program under the CMO which is the Special Purpose Appropriations Category– Davao City Expanded Legal Aid Program with the proposed funding of P2 million– for extended legal services for indigent litigants who lack financial means to hire legal counsel.
The Educational Assistance Program is also set to receive an increased budget amounting to P78.7 million as it currently supports 2,510 scholars.
The Lingap program also received increased funding of P2 million from the current P402 million to P609 million to cater to more clients in need.
Meanwhile, the CSWDO received the second largest share due to its new program the Annual Financial Assistance to Indigent Solo Parents with a proposed budget of P39.6 million, as mandated by Ordinance 0393-24, series of 2024, for solo parents’ monthly monetary subsidy of P1,000.
Another significant program under the CSWDO is the Annual Financial Assistance to All Qualified Senior Citizens of Davao City, with a funding of P255 million as provided for by Ordinance 0954-22, or “The Amended Annual Financial Assistance to All Qualified Senior Citizens Ordinance of Davao City,” that qualified senior citizens shall receive a P1,500.00 annually.
The CDRRMO has the third-largest allocation with the bulk of this amount earmarked for the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (LDRRMF), with 30% being allocated as a Quick Response Fund (QRF) or stand-by fund for relief and recovery programs “so that the situation and living conditions of people in communities or areas stricken by disasters, calamities, epidemics, or complex emergencies, may be normalized as quickly as possible.”
The CHO on the other hand receives the fourth largest share from the General Fund Proper to be utilized to cover the expenses for its 17 programs, including the increase in the budget for Drugs and Medicine Expenses under the CHO’s Field Projects Program, which rose from P8,872,908.00 to P14,976,163.00.
Dr. Margie Roa-Rubio, assistant city health officer for operations, explained that this increase is primarily due to a higher number of patients seeking services at district health units, driven by the implementation of the PhilHealth Konsulta Package.
Finally, the CHO also has a budget proposal amounting to PHP 164 million for its Expanded Primary Health Care (EPHC) – including salaries of 43 doctors, 706 personnel under Contract of Services, and 350 personnel under Job Orders (JOs), “to ensure the consistent delivery of medical services at the barangay level.”
File photo by Bing Gonzales
