RDC XII endorses Php 145 billion worth of investment proposals

By Judd Nichol L. Leonar, NEDA XII

KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato – The Regional Development Council (RDC) XII Advisory Committee (AdCom) and the expanded Executive Committee (ExCom), in its “Consultation and Review of FY 2023 Budget Proposals of Regional Line Agencies, State Universities and Colleges, and Other National Government Instrumentalities (NGI) in Region XII, ” approved and endorsed a total amount of PhP 145 Billion as investment requirements of the region for FY 2023 on February 15, 22-23, 2022, respectively via videoconference.

On February 15, 2022, the RDC XII AdCom and ExCom reviewed and endorsed the proposals of selected National Government Agencies in the amount of Php122 Billion, and provided guidance on how to further push the development initiatives of the Region.

For the February 22-23, 2022 Expanded Executive Committee Consultation and Review activity, Day 1 was devoted to the review and endorsement of the priority PAPs of Economic and Social Sector agencies/entities totaling to PhP 13,927,860,983.00. The Expanded ExCom also endorsed the Priority PAPs of some SUCs and agencies that were in the 2022 General Appropriations Act to the DBM for later release totaling to PhP 2,718,462,000.00. The proposal of the Cotabato State University was also endorsed despite its being already under the jurisdiction of BARMM, due to the University’s continuing importance to the people of Region XII as it continues to serve students who come from SOCCSKSARGEN.

Day 2 of the Expanded ExCom consultation and review was focused on the Infrastructure and Macro/GID Sector agencies. The proposals from both sectors reached a total of PhP 8,324,158,312.53.

The proposed amount for FY 2023 is observed to be PhP 58 Billion lower compared to the FY 2022’s total proposed priority PAPs of PhP 203 Billion. The decrease may be attributed, among others, to the implementation of the Mandanas-Garcia Ruling, devolving some of the agency functions directly to the LGUs, as well as the realignment of some budget to BARMM considering some areas originally from Region XII have already transitioned under the jurisdiction of BARMM.

The conduct of the budget review activity was in compliance with Executive Order (EO) No. 325, series of 1996 which mandates all RDCs to review the annual budget proposals of government entities to ensure that they address the strategic development needs and priorities of the region. It also aimed to ensure that national and regional priorities as contained in the Philippine and Regional Development Plans 2017-2022 Midterm Update, the SOCCSKSARGEN Regional Recovery Plan (RRP) Volume 2: Rehabilitation and Resiliency Plan (RaRP) 2021-2022; the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Annual Investment Program (AIP) for 2023, are included in the budget proposals for FY 2023 of RLAs and other NGIs in the region.

For Fiscal Year 2023, the National Budget Memorandum (NBM) No. 142 issued by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on January 12, 2022 served as the basis for the primary budget parameters, as well as the policy guidelines and procedures to aid government agencies in the preparation and submission of their budget proposals.