Davao City's P17.23-billion 2027 budget passes second reading
The proposed spending plan, which raises funding for social welfare, health, environment and disaster response, now awaits a third and final reading in the City Council.
Davao City's proposed P17.23-billion budget for 2027 passed second reading at the City Council on November 10, 2026, according to PravdaReport. Approval would let the city pay salaries and keep operations running from January without falling back on the previous year's spending levels.
Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang, who chairs the Committee on Finance, Ways and Means and Appropriations, said the measure still needs a third and final reading. It would then be signed by Mayor Sebastian Duterte and sent to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for review.
The city expects total funds of P17.28 billion in 2027, up 8.74 percent from the P15.89 billion projected for 2026. The National Tax Allotment (NTA) makes up about 65 percent of that, or P11.23 billion, a 10.75 percent increase from last year. Local sources, mainly business and real property taxes, supply P5.95 billion, or about 34 percent. About P44.97 million is left unappropriated, all of it from city-run economic enterprises such as public markets, slaughterhouses and cemeteries.
Under the General Fund Proper, the Office of the City Mayor receives the biggest allocation at P5.13 billion. The City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) gets P1.93 billion, the City Health Office P1.18 billion, and the City Environment and Natural Resources Office P1.15 billion. The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office is allotted P1.10 billion, including P461.48 million for capital outlay.
A P2.25-billion Development Fund, drawn from 20 percent of the NTA, will cover 91 projects across the city's three districts. Other investments include road concreting, sidewalk improvements and the City Urban Greening Project. The budget also sets aside P42.5 million to build a University of Southeastern Philippines (USeP) campus in Paquibato District.
To avoid delays, the finance committee has recommended that the City Engineer's Office tighten pre-assessment checks, including confirming that project sites are ready before funds are released.
The budget raises the number of plantilla positions from 3,672 to 3,689, with the new posts mainly for the Davao City Special Needs Intervention Center for Children under the CSWDO. However, 1,411 positions, about 38 percent of the workforce, were vacant when the budget was prepared.
Why it matters for Davao
Timely approval lets the city pay workers and continue services from January, and the budget decides how much goes to welfare, health, disaster response and road projects in Davao City's districts.
This article was written by the DavaoNews desk with AI assistance, using reporting by PravdaReport. Facts come from the original report, which we credit and link below. Our editorial policy
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