By Erwin Nicavera/PNA
BACOLOD CITY — The Provincial Board of Negros Occidental approved an almost PHP50-million additional budget for the implementation of various infrastructure projects and for the operations of district hospitals this year.
The funds are included in the two supplemental budgets passed during the regular session on Wednesday afternoon.
The first, taken from the 2018 General Fund, amounted to PHP27.8 million while the second, under the 2018 Hospital Operations Department (HOD) budget, was worth about PHP22 million.
Second District Board Member Salvador Escalante Jr., chairman of committee on appropriations, budget and finance, said the bulk of the first appropriation is intended for the development of road network in Toboso town.
The project amounting to PHP20 million covers the concreting of the 1.5-kilometer Crossing Unggoy-Sitio Mainit Road and Pulupangyan-Pasto-Salvacion Road.
Other components of the PHP27.8-million appropriation include the conversion of dryer feeder line at the Negros First Rice Processing Center in Bago City worth PHP603,635; upgrading of manpower development center and purchase of equipment at the Negros Occidental Language and Information Technology Center, PHP1.65 million; expansion of Negros First Organic Technology Center, PHP3.09 million; development of NFOTEC as registered learning site, PHP1.5 million; and development of Provincial Nurseries in cities of Himamaylan and Victorias, PHP1 million.
The source of fund for these projects is the reversion of the 20 percent Provincial Development Fund for 2017 and 2016.
Moreover, Escalante said the second appropriation will be released to the HOD itself and among the 11 district hospitals. The amount per facility depends on their respective concerns.
The bulk of the fund will go to HOD’s purchase of equipment, including X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines amounting to about PHP8 million.
“This might be the last supplemental budget for HOD this year,” Escalante said.
