A common misconception in government programs, projects and services is that these are funded and implemented entirely either by the local or National Government.
After the recent State of the Province Address of Cebu Gov. Pamela Baricuatro, it was therefore not a surprise that complaints were addressed to her regarding the sad state of affairs at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC).
Accordingly, the hospital’s facilities are inadequate to meet the demands of the growing population of Cebu Province. Since VSMMC’s beds and spaces are meant only to accommodate patients, their watchers stay out in the cold pavements of surrounding streets just to be able to stay close to the patient and run errands for them such as buying medicines which are not available in the hospital’s pharmacy.
So, while Baricuatro reported that health and medical facilities in the province have been upgraded, there were those who immediately questioned the claims, citing the conditions of the VSMMC as a prime example of the alleged inadequacy.
The same thing happened last June during Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Cynthia King-Chan’s State of the City Address. Right after her speech, heavy rain drenched the city and a flash flood occurred in Barangay Basak which, judging by its name, is traditionally a water catchment area. Immediately, people questioned the City Government’s capability to address the issue of flood control.
But the flooded area of that barangay is part of the long stretch of the S. Osmeña St. which is a national road. As such, maintaining adequate drainage facilities in the area falls under the primary jurisdiction of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which is a national government agency.
In Baricuatro’s case, the Province has spent considerable resources to improve the facilities and services of the 16 provincial hospitals, spending P4.8 billion in healthcare funding and more than P850 million for new equipment and infrastructure. Through this, the people’s dependency on VSMMC is being reduced since patients in the province no longer have to seek admission in the city for their medical needs.
On the other hand, Mayor King-Chan has appropriated P4.72 billion as an annual budget for fiscal year 2026, some P46.4 million of which is being allocated for road and drainage projects. These are, however, for local roads whose previously isolated drainage facilities connect to outfalls or discharge points in national roads under the DPWH. Oftentimes, the problem lies in the national road outfalls rather than in the local road drainage facilities.
The practice of separate spending by national and local governments is bound by the principles of fiscal decentralization and subsidiarity. In theory, this is meant to enable local governments to handle public services and financial decisions efficiently, thereby empowering the lower levels of government and making them less dependent on the National Government.
Meanwhile, the national level takes charge of macro-level responsibilities that impact the country as a whole such as foreign policy, economic development planning, nationwide infrastructure and macroeconomic stability.
Public finance procedures require clear rules on which government level pays for which project. This is aimed at preventing duplication, confusion and wastage of funds in public services. Separating budgets allows taxpayers to see how local taxes and national appropriations are spent.
So the next time questions are raised over inadequate government undertakings, citizens should first find out if these are within the responsibilities of local or national government offices, instead of directly criticizing the mayor, the governor or even the president. In short, let’s stop barking up the wrong tree.
(Disclosure: The columnist serves as administrator of two Provincial Government-run bus terminals under the Baricuatro administration. His wife is a member of the Lapu-Lapu City Council.)
