43.2 billion pesos or equivalent to 66% of the total budget has been allocated to fund the projects and programs of eighteen (18) ministries and offices of the Bangsamoro Government next year. Of the 43.2B budget, 20.13B or almost 47% is appropriated as personnel services (PS), 13.92B or 32% as maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE), and 9.13B or 21% as capital outlay (CO). Here’s how it is distributed:
Biggest Budgets
The education sector receives the lion’s share of funds with 19.08B budget appropriation for the Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education (MBTHE). The Ministry also has the biggest PS allocation with almost 80% of its total budget allocated to fund the payment of wages and other compensation of its personnel. The Ministry also allocated a total of 445.26 million pesos for Madaris education, including its Madaris Asatidz Program.
The Office of the Chief Minister (OCM) receives the next highest allocation with 7.92B corresponding to almost 29% of the total budget. This will fund the banner development programs of the Government of the day including its built-in quick response fund (QRF) or the government’s standby fund to “immediately assist areas stricken by catastrophes and crises” amounting to 1.6B1. The Office also receives the biggest MOOE allocation at 4.74B.
The Ministry of Public Works (MPW) comes next with 4.09B budget appropriation. The biggest CO allocation is also lodged under this Ministry which consists primarily of infrastructure outlay to finance the Government’s local infra programs distributed across the region’s territories.
4.66% of the total budget is appropriated for the Ministry of Health (MOH) with a budget of 3.07B. This is expected to provide budgetary support to twenty-seven (27) hospitals in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region. The Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), on the other hand, receives an appropriation of 2.59B. The BTA budget will support the operations of the interim Parliament which is currently composed of seventy nine (79) members. Part of its allocation is also dedicated to construct the Parliament building to house the sessions and offices of the members.
The newly enacted budget will also fund the other Bangsamoro Organic Law-mandated ministries and offices. It appropriates 2.03B for regional social services under the Ministry of Social Services (MSS), 1.35B for the supervision of its constituent local government units (LGUs) as well as the disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) services of the region under the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG); 986.8M for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform; 460.5M for the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources, and Energy; 454M for the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Management; 279.8M for the Ministry of Trade, Investment and Tourism; 214.9M for the Ministry of Transportation and Communication; 193.2M for the Ministry of Labor and Employment; 164.6M for the Ministry of Science and Technology; 99.6M for the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affair; 94.9M for Ministry of Human Settlement and Development; 86.8M for the Ministry of Public Order and Safety; and 27.8M for the Office of the Wali for the fulfillment of its role as the ceremonial head of the Bangsamoro Government.
This article is the second of a four-part series that expounds on the FY2020 Bangsamoro Budget in line with the Office of the Minority Leader’s aim of promoting government transparency, and participation among all Bangsamoro stakeholders. For data requests, questions, or comments on this series, contact us through this link.
1Quick Response Fund as defined by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). https://www.dbm.gov.ph/index.php/programs-projects/calamity-and-quick-response-funds#2-what-is-quick-response-fund
