September 10, 2020 | The City Government of Isabela for the first time in the history of the city, conducted series of  People’s Budget Consultation last September 10-11, 2020 at the 4th floor of Infirmary Building, City Hall, Isabela City, Basilan.

In this new initiative, the different sectors in Isabela City were invited to be part of the budget planning process for the fiscal year 2021.

Isabela City Mayor Sitti Djalia A. Turabin-Hataman initiated this bottom-up-budget approach or participatory budgeting approach to empower the Isabela citizenry in demanding a transparent, accountable, participatory, efficient and effective governance from their local government, which is on top of her 9-point Priority Agenda. This is also a way to ensure that the real needs of the various sectors of the society are heard by making them participate in the budget planning process.

Congressman Mujiv S. Hataman was invited as a Resource Person and reactor to the presented workshop outputs that include the list of projects and programs by sector. Congressman Hataman was known for his People’s Budget Approach during his stint as the ARMM Regional Governor.

Sectors invited in the first of the series of People’s Budget Consultations included Women, Youth, PWD, OSYs, Children, Senior Citizens, IPs, Religious Groups, and Solo Parents.

Another set of consultations were also conducted with the representatives from the agricultural sectors (farmers and fisherfolks), business, tourist guides, NGOs, health, and peace.

These series of consultations are in addition to the consultation to be conducted separately with the 45 barangay chairmen of the city.