MDGs in 2011 local budget pushed

TACLOBAN CITY — The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has asked local government units to consider programs that will meet UN-sponsored Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in planning for their 2011 budget.

Imelda Laceras, DBM regional director said the department will gather governors and mayors in Eastern Visayas for two days In November to discuss ways to link budget planning with MDG targets.

With 48.5% of the region’s population still living below the poverty threshold, Ms. Laceras said there is a need for local officials to refocus the use of internal revenue allotment (IRA) to improve the plight of poor families.

“Local governments should follow the direction of the National Government in alleviating poverty using the budget. In our upcoming meeting we will focus on discussing the role of local chief executives in preparing the budget,” she said.

Local government units have started drafting their 2011 budget, but Ms. Laceras said there is still time to insert MDG-related targets before the budget is forwarded to the DBM central office.

“The region has many things to do to meet MDG targets. Yearly budgeting should be refocused to address the concern of sectors where we are lagging behind,” she added.

“I encourage local planners to review MDG statistics and find out how to address these concerns using their internal revenue allotment,” Ms. Laceras said.

The region’s IRA for local government units reached P15.97 billion for 2010, or 6% of the of the P265.80-billion allocation nationwide.

Based on the latest report, Region 8 has been lagging behind in goals to achieve universal primary education with only 63.6% and 62.6% of children completing elementary and secondary education, respectively.

The region also scored low in the promotion of gender equality and empowering women especially in terms of education and politics.

Improving maternal health is another concern in view of the high maternal mortality rate and preference of mothers to seek the services of traditional birth attendants.

On a national level, the country is also lagging in universal primary education and maternal health. Its third concern is the spread of human immunovirus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS).

Meanwhile, the spike in dengue cases in the region this year has dragged down the performance in combating diseases. However, the region registered better score in terms reducing child mortality.

Contributing to the high score gained in ensuring environmental sustainability is the proportion of households with access to safe water (83.8%) and with sanitary toilet facility (77.4%).

MDGs are a set of eight time-bound, concrete and specific targets aimed at significantly reducing, if not decisively eradicating poverty, by the year 2015.

Meanwhile, Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda R. Marcos (2nd district) wants to raise $10 billion or around P400 billion to alleviate poverty.

The former first lady has filed House Bill 3252 which seeks to set up the Millennium Development Fund, a savings-investment fund that will tap remittances to support MDG-related local government project, with emphasis on barangay-level self-sustaining education, health and livelihood projects.

“Present efforts have not met some major [MDG] targets so we have to double our initiatives to speed up our country’s drive towards our goals,” Ms. Marcos, Ms. Marcos, chairman of the special committee on MDG, told reporters Friday. — Sarwell Q. Meniano with an input from Noemi M. Gonzales, BUsinessworld