Cebu governor slams P25-B budget plan

Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro denounced on Sunday the P25-billion annual budget for this year as “wishful thinking.”

In an interview with DAILY TRIBUNE, Baricuatro asked the previous provincial board about its tolerance for passing an unrealistic budget.

“Imagine, we only have P9 billion in revenue collections, including the National Tax Allotment (NTA) formerly Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA),” the governor cited.

Cebu Provincial Administrator Atty. Joseph Ace Durano disclosed that only P2.1 billion remains available for the last six months of 2025, based on the province’s approved annual budget.

A significant portion of the amount has already been allocated to fixed costs, including employee salaries and essential operational expenses.

“So every month until the end of the year, we have P350 million a month,” Durano said.

“This is the only amount that Gov. Pam has for her priority programs,” he stressed.

Baricuatro ordered a review of the legitimacy of the P450 million in payables left by the previous administration.

Durano noted that the provincial treasury holds approximately P5 billion in unused cash.

A large portion is locked in trust funds, including the Special Education Fund, which is earmarked for specific, restricted purposes, while roughly P2 billion belongs to the General Fund.

In 2024, Cebu province had an annual budget of P23 billion, which increased by 8.7 percent to P25 billion.

A significant portion — P14 billion — was allocated to the Annual Investment Plan, which focuses on infrastructure and development.

Key allocations included P3.8 billion for health services, P3.5 billion for roads and solar street lights, and P3.3 billion for bulk water supply programs for 25 local government units.

Additional funding included P371 million for disaster risk reduction and P1.25 billion for the General and Development Plan.

Then-board member Glenn Soco, now the Vice Governor, authored the budget ordinance.