Davao City budget up by 10% to ₱15.8 billion for 2026
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 13 November) — The City Council of Davao approved on third and final reading on Thursday an ordinance allocating a local budget amounting to ₱15,846,064,435 for 2026, representing an increase of 10.76 percent from the 2025 budget of ₱14,346,445,829.
During a special session, Davao City 2nd District Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang, chair of the Committee on Finance, Ways and Means, and Appropriations, moved for the passage of the local budget as proposed by the Office of the Mayor Sebastian Duterte, which was promptly approved.
Of the total local budget, ₱13.652 billion, or 86.16 percent, will be allocated to the city’s general fund; ₱2.028 billion, or 12.80 percent, to the development fund; and ₱165.8 million, or 1.04 percent, to economic enterprises.
Under the city’s general fund for 2026, maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) will account for the largest share, with an allocation of ₱10.718 billion, or 67 percent of the total budget. This is followed by expenditures for personal services at ₱2.222 billion, and capital outlays for various departments, offices, and units of the city government amounting to ₱899.961 million.
Among all city government offices, the Office of the City Mayor will receive the largest allocation at ₱5.008 billion, or 36.69 percent of the total budget. Of this amount, ₱4.544 billion will be allocated for MOOE, ₱303.206 million for capital outlay, and ₱160.551 million for personal services.
However, the allocation for the Office of the City Mayor for 2026 decreased by 2.70 percent from ₱5.147 billion set aside under the current year’s budget.
In a letter dated October 16 to then Acting Vice Mayor Rodrigo “Rigo” S. Duterte II, the mayor justified his office’s budget, citing the inclusion of appropriations for key programs and services under its jurisdiction, such as General Administration, Administrative Support Services, the Peace and Order and Public Safety Program, and the Lingap Program.
Sebastian and his nephew, Rigo, who were elected vice mayor and 1st District councilor, respectively, in the May 12, 2025 elections, assumed the positions of mayor and vice mayor in an acting capacity, after former President Rodrigo R. Duterte, currently detained at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, failed to assume his post as mayor.
Effective November 13, Sebastian and Rigo assumed the positions of mayor and vice mayor through succession.
The mayor said his office’s budget also encompasses various offices and units, including, among others, Museo Dabawenyo, Davao City Treatment and Rehabilitation Center for Drug Dependents, Barangay Development Program, Integrated Gender and Development Program, Ancillary Services Unit, Vices Regulation Unit, Internal Audit Service Unit, Senior Citizen Affairs Office, Special Office for Children’s Concerns, Malasakit Center, and Peace 911.
The city’s ₱2.028 billion development fund for 2026 will be allocated to finance various infrastructure projects. Of this amount, ₱1.190 billion, or 58.70 percent, will go to economic development projects; ₱516 million, or 25.45 percent, to environmental development projects; ₱241.248 million, or 11.90 percent, to social development projects; and ₱80.250 million, or 3.96 percent, to general public services.
Infrastructure projects lined up under the development fund for 2026 include additional buildings, hospitals and health centers, road networks, power supply systems, water supply systems, flood control systems, and other improvements.
The city’s budget sources include ₱10,140,378,300 share from the national tax allotment, ₱5,654,078250 from local revenues, and ₱95 million share from economic zones. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
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