The provincial government of Pangasinan has allocated a PHP8.3-billion annual budget for 2026.

During an interview on Monday, after the Sangguniang Panlalawigan approved the annual budget, Vice Governor Mark Ronald Lambino said the amount exceeds this year’s PHP7.1-billion budget.

“A significant part of the increase was due to higher national tax allocation (NTA) and increased income generated locally, especially from economic enterprises,” he said.

According to the Pangasinan Information and Media Relations Office (PIMRO), the NTA is projected to rise from over PHP5.89 billion in 2025 to PHP6.67 billion in 2026, based on the comparative data report.

Lambino said the bulk of the budget goes to social services, such as healthcare, agriculture, education, and related activities.

Social services received over PHP3.9 billion, PHP2.9 billion for Public Services and PHP1.5 billion for Economic Services, based on the 2026 Annual Investment Program’s priority projects.

He said funding is also allocated for infrastructure development, including upgrades and the addition of hospitals such as the Umingan Supercommunity Hospital and Alcala Community Hospital.

The 2026 budget encompasses General Fund Appropriations, including Personal Services —which cover the Implementation of the Salary Standardization Law VI (SSL of 2024) and Medical Allowance— as well as Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE), Capital Outlay, and Special Purpose Appropriations (SPA).

The annual budget also includes allocations for the anticipated classification of 14 provincial hospitals and Pangasinan Polytechnic College (PPC) as local economic enterprises, the PIMRO stated.

Just like the hospitals, PPC will continue to receive subsidies from the provincial government, it added. (PNA)