Iloilo approves PHP6.88B budget for 2026

By Mariela Angella Oladive

The Iloilo Provincial Government will operate on a PHP 6.88 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2026 following the passage of Appropriation Ordinance No. 2025-03, Series of 2025, by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan during its regular session Tuesday, Nov. 18.

The newly approved budget is more than PHP 900 million higher than last year’s PHP 5.977 billion.

Of the total, PHP 5,530,518,632 is allotted to the General Fund, while PHP 1,349,611,359 is allocated to the Local Economic Enterprise.

In 2025, the province set aside PHP 4,849,438,886 for the General Fund and PHP 1,127,641,541 for the Local Economic Enterprise.

The budget covers personnel services, maintenance and operating expenses, capital outlay, and priority development programs under the provincial government.

Based on the receipts program, the General Fund will be supported by PHP 281.5 million in local tax revenues, PHP 152.5 million in non-tax revenues, and PHP 5.09 billion from the National Tax Allotment.

The Local Economic Enterprise projects PHP 683.6 million in non-tax income, mostly from hospital fees, and will receive a PHP 666 million subsidy from the General Fund.

Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. said the budget supports his administration’s Movement for a Robust, Progressive, Globally-Competitive, and Resilient (MoRProGRes) Iloilo development agenda, which prioritizes health and social services, economic growth, food security, infrastructure resilience, and environmental protection.

“In this budget, we really did our best so that we can fund significant infrastructure projects as well as our other programs like the Tanum Iloilo, Limpyo Iloilo, SiPag at TiyaGa, and the 4K for MoRProGRes (Kapayapaan, Kaayusan at Katatagan Tungo sa Kaunlaran ng Bagong Pilipinas),” he said.

He thanked the provincial board, led by Vice Gov. Lee Ann Debuque, for the prompt approval.

“It is really a good thing that the budget was approved sooner because we can also start implementing our programs as soon as possible. By the start of 2026, we will hit the ground running,” he said.

Meanwhile, Debuque assured that although the 2026 budget was approved earlier than usual, it was not rushed.

She said the measure underwent proper procedures, thorough deliberation, and full transparency, with all allocations justified and no unauthorized insertions allowed.

She also noted that resources were equitably distributed across all five districts.