Prior to the attendance of Regional Director, Chief Administrative Officer and Budget Officer to the Budget Forum called by Central Office in preparation for the submission of the 2022 Budget, the Civil Registration and Administrative Support Division (CRASD) gathered representatives from its provincial offices in a forum on Budget Proposal Presentation on 16 February 2021 via online.

The forum was an initiative of the region as it aims to guide key officials & budget officers in the preparation of budget proposals which should include projects that complement the organization’s mandate. The activity was driven with the objectives to equip the regional and provincial key officials with the knowledge to understand the process of budget preparation and to come up with a more realistic, sufficient and sustainable budget for 2022.

Chief Administrative Officer, Edwina M. Carriaga emphasized during her welcome remarks the significance of organizing the said forum and encouraged all present to take part in every planning, decision-making and implementation of strategies. “In order to achieve the above objectives, we need to prepare the work program and from work program we can come up with our Project Procurement Management Plan (PPMP) and from that PPMP we can have our Annual Procurement Plan (APP)”, she added. She also explained that for 2022 budget proposal, it will only cover the General Administration, the LFS, Agricultural Statistics Operations, Statistical Coordination and Civil Registration, the five regular activities in line with the mandate. Outputs prepared will be submitted to DBM through Central Office and these are the funds that will be directly downloaded in the regional offices. She concluded that any increase made on the items of expenditures, a note stating the intention to increase shall be provided.

Engr. Ariel E. Florendo, the Regional Director of PSA VII, expressed during his inspirational message how grateful he was for conducting the said forum. Developing the organization including leaders and individuals to deliver relevant and reliable statistics, efficient civil registration and inclusive identification system are one of the objectives he desired for the division and provinces to accomplish this year for an improved service delivery as a word-class PSA. He further explained that proposed budget should also support the core values of the organization measuring transparency and integrity so that it can be presented to any agencies as well as to the public. “I just want to remind everyone about our core values and hopefully this activity serves as an eye opener to all of us, that we are not just here for the budget but to represent the Filipino people”, he added. In his conclusion, he encouraged the leaders to be strong and to stand firm in the core values since they will be representing the public.

Prior to the presentation of the provinces, Miss Xina Ixora Aranas, the Administrative Officer IV of PSA VII administered a short review on the budget cycle. Discussions focused on the definition of government budgeting and revenues, how the annual budget prepared and process of budget preparation. It aims to equip the participants with the basic knowledge and skills on identifying things to consider before making a budget proposal. Highlights of the 2020 budget were also presented to transpire allotment received, total CMI received, comparative budget (proposed vs approved) and modification of funds from MOOE to PS to finance the CNI and SRI. In addition, a presentation of outputs was demonstrated by each province. Key discussions revolved around the proposed budget for 2022, comparative disbursements incurred between 2020 and 2021 and the challenges encountered and actions taken from the previous year.

A closing remark was delivered by Miss Jessamyn Anne Alcazaren, the Chief Statistical Specialist of PSA Bohol. In her message, she emphasized how helpful the activity was especially in giving prioritization to other projects.

The said forum aims to facilitate the timely submissions of the said budget. As such, a number of concluding points for the way forward distilled from the discussions were presented to inspire new solutions and development pathways that stimulate change and reforms.