City mayor’s office to operate on ‘smaller’ 2026 budget

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Iloilo City Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu has proposed a PHP1.929 billion budget for her office in 2026, accounting for about 43 percent of the city government’s total proposed budget for the year.

The proposed PHP1,929,681,872 budget is slightly lower than the projected PHP1,977,236,585 in spending by the Office of the City Mayor for 2025, a reduction of PHP47,554,713.

The city’s total proposed budget for 2026 is PHP4.5 billion, which is now under deliberation by the City Council’s Committee on Appropriations.

For personal services, the office has proposed PHP156 million, slightly less than the estimated PHP158 million for 2025.

The majority of this will go to salaries and wages at PHP105 million, followed by PHP12.6 million for retirement and life insurance premiums.

The proposed budget for maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) stands at PHP1.065 billion.

MOOE covers the day-to-day operational costs of the mayor’s office, including utilities, supplies, communication, travel, transportation, contractual services, and minor repairs.

Of the MOOE, PHP190 million is allocated for electricity, PHP98 million for the barangay outreach program, PHP61 million for festivals and holidays, and PHP57 million for the traffic management program.

The capital outlay is pegged at PHP97.83 million, intended for acquiring equipment and fixed assets necessary for office operations.

This includes PHP20 million for construction and heavy equipment, PHP18 million for Iloilo City Hall rehabilitation, and PHP16 million for machinery and equipment.

It also includes PHP13 million for furniture and fixtures, PHP10 million for executive office vehicles, and PHP9.06 million for information and communications technology for the executive and Personnel Information and Payroll System Management offices.

The proposed budget also includes PHP145.79 million in financial expenses or debt service.

This covers PHP81 million in interest payments for public market rehabilitation, Iloilo City hospital construction, and the multi-level parking building.

It also includes PHP28 million for loan amortization to the Land Bank of the Philippines for school buildings, and PHP11 million for interest payments for the same projects.

There is PHP6.6 million for interest on land acquisition for socialized housing sites, PHP7.2 million for the city slaughterhouse construction, and PHP6 million for documentary stamp procurement.

Special purpose appropriations amount to PHP464 million, with the largest share—PHP225 million—allocated to the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund.