Naga City Embarks on Performance-Based Budgeting Under Mayor Leni Robredo

The Naga City Government, under the leadership of Mayor Leni Robredo, officially launched its Executive-Legislative Agenda (ELA) session today, laying the groundwork for a transformative shift in local governance — with a strong focus on performance-based budgeting.

Held at the city hall and attended by department heads and members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, this year’s ELA marks a deliberate move away from traditional budgeting methods. Instead, Mayor Robredo is steering the city toward a rational, outcomes-focused approach in allocating public funds.

“In the old practice, we observed serious imbalances — there were items that needed more funding but received less, while some got more than what was actually necessary,” Robredo said during the session.

The shift was first introduced in a pre-ELA workshop months prior, where both executive and legislative leaders agreed to discard outdated budget procedures. From that workshop emerged eight thematic areas, each with specific performance indicators that will guide the city’s planning and spending.

One of the major reforms discussed today involves breaking down silos among departments. Robredo cited the issue of child nutrition, which traditionally saw separate budget requests from offices like the City Population and Nutrition Office (CPNO), City Health Office (CHO), and Education, Scholarship, and Sports Office (ESSO).

“This results in overlapping allocations, and sometimes, essential needs — like medicines — are left underfunded,” she explained.

Under the new system, departments tackling common goals will be grouped into unified planning teams, required to submit joint programs and consolidated budget proposals. The aim is to ensure that resources go exactly where they are needed — avoiding waste, redundancy, and inefficiency.

Mayor Robredo emphasized that this strategy is more than a budgeting fix — it is a fundamental change in governance that seeks to foster collaboration, maximize efficiency, and improve service delivery to the people of Naga.

The results of today’s ELA session will define Naga’s development roadmap for the next three years, reflecting Mayor Robredo’s push for evidence-based, citizen-centered governance.

📷: Atty. Leni Robredo

Naga City embarks on performance-based budgeting under Mayor Leni Robredo