Iloilo proposes PHP 6.102 billion General Fund budget for 2027

ILOILO CITY — The Iloilo provincial government is proposing a PHP 6.102 billion General Fund budget for 2027, supported by a projected PHP 549.54 million increase in its National Tax Allotment (NTA).

Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. presented the proposal during a press conference on Oct. 7, saying it would fund infrastructure and other priority programs and services.

“In our budget, we see to it that the important programs that we are pushing have funding. The budget always increases, except during the pandemic, because the NTA always increases,” Defensor said.

The 2027 executive budget summary places the proposed General Fund at PHP 6,101,660,416, comprising PHP 456.6 million from local sources and PHP 5,645,060,416 from the NTA.

National tax transfers would account for about 92.52% of the proposed fund, making them the province’s principal source of financing for the listed expenditures.

The NTA is the share of local governments in national tax collections, distributed under a statutory formula.

Iloilo’s allotment is projected to rise by PHP 549,541,784 from PHP 5,095,518,632 in 2026 to PHP 5,645,060,416 in 2027.

The summary lists the increase as 9.73%, but the stated amounts yield a year-over-year increase of approximately 10.78%, using the 2026 allotment as the base.

The 9.73% figure corresponds to the difference divided by the proposed 2027 allotment.

The proposal allocates PHP 1,314,178,433 for personnel services, PHP 2,292,176,853 for maintenance and other operating expenses, and PHP 160,820,000 for capital outlay.

These appropriations total PHP 3,767,175,286, with another PHP 2,334,485,130 set aside for special-purpose appropriations.

The special-purpose allocations include PHP 1,165,850,000 under the line labeled “20% NTA Development Fund” and PHP 305,083,021 for the 5% Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund.

Other allocations are PHP 1,721,000 in aid to barangays, PHP 4 million in aid to the Commission on Elections, and PHP 33,354,189 for terminal leave pay.

The proposal also provides PHP 824,476,920 in advances to Local Economic Enterprise (LEE).

The listed appropriations equal the projected resources, leaving no unappropriated balance in the summary.

Defensor said a substantial portion of provincial resources would go to infrastructure, with the Provincial Engineer’s Office expected to receive a significant allocation for implementing projects.

He also highlighted the peace and order fund, which he said could address Philippine National Police operational needs, including requests for projects such as water systems.

Defensor said the peace and order allocation was not a confidential fund.

The summary does not separately identify the amounts proposed for the engineer’s office or the peace and order fund.

The proposed budget still requires deliberation and approval by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, or provincial board, with the administration expecting approval before the end of 2026.

For 2026, the province’s approved annual budget totaled approximately PHP 6.88 billion under Appropriation Ordinance No. 2025-03, series of 2025, passed in November 2025.

That amount covered both the General Fund, at approximately PHP 5.530 billion, and LEE, at approximately PHP 1.350 billion.

The PHP 6.102 billion proposal for 2027 covers the General Fund only, so it is not directly comparable with the combined PHP 6.88 billion figure for 2026.

The executive summary includes LEE advances but does not present a separate 2027 LEE budget.

The combined 2026 budget was more than PHP 900 million higher than the PHP 5.977 billion budget for 2025.

The 2026 spending plan funded personnel services, operating expenses, capital outlay, and development programs under the administration’s Movement for a Robust, Progressive, Globally-Competitive, and Resilient (MoRProGRes) Iloilo agenda.

Its identified priorities included Tanum Iloilo, Limpyo Iloilo, SiPag at TiyaGa, and 4K for MoRProGRes.