In a joint meeting of its Advisory Committee (AdCom) and Executive Committee (ExCom), the Regional Development Council 2 (RDC2) approved and endorsed the budget proposals of 19 Regional Line Agencies (RLAS) for Fiscal Year 2016 amounting to Php 54.1 Billion.

Held on April 28, 2015 at the Pamegafanan Hall of the NEDA2-RDC2 Building, the joint AdCom-ExCom meeting was also attended by the heads of the 19 RLAs or their able representatives to address issues that were raised on their budget proposals.

The RDC2 ExCom is composed of the Chairpersons of the 11 sectoral and support committees of the Council and selected Private Sector Representatives. Meanwhile, the AdCom is composed of the ExCom members and the 10 Congressional Representatives of Region 02 – 4 from Isabela, 3 from Cagayan, and 1 each from the lone districts of Quirino, Batanes, and Nueva Vizcaya.

In her presentation during the joint meeting, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Regional Director Isabel C. Taguinod said that these 19 budget proposals have undergone rigid deliberation and review during the Regional Budget Review held on April 20-21, 2015, also at the Pamegafanan Hall. Dir. Taguinod also sits as the Chair of the Regional Budget Review Committee (RBRC), one of the RDC2’s support committees.

According to Dir. Taguinod, the budget proposals were reviewed based on the Two-Tier Budgeting Approach (2TBA) implemented by the DBM which separates the review of ongoing and approved programs from the new and expanded ones to give better focus on each program.

She added that the process also incorporates three important components, namely: (1) strengthening the role of the RDC in the region-wide infrastructure planning through the reinstitution of the Three-year Rolling Infrastructure Program; (2) rationalizing the Special Purpose Funds; and (3) adopting the Unified Accounts Code Structure (UACS).

As an addendum, RDC2 Acting Chair and NEDA Regional Director MaryAnne ER. Darauay also presented some proposed road projects in Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, and Cagayan for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to consider in their 2016 budget as requested by their respective Provincial Local Governments.

DPWH Assistant Regional Director Alexander Nola said that two of the four Nueva Vizcaya road projects are already incorporated in their agency budget for FY 2016. Dir. Darauay added that the remaining road project proposals will be referred to the RDC2-Infrastructure Development Committee (IDC) for further deliberation and endorsement during its second quarter meeting.#