After Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento launched Bottom-Up Budgeting or BuB4Barangays for DILG field officers of Luzon Cluster, he again led the roll-out of the said program for both Visayas and Mindanao Clusters. The activity, with the theme "Heightening the BuB at the Grassroots Level" started on February 8 until February 11, 2016 for Visayas group and February 11-14, 2016 for Mindanao group both at Travelers Hotel, Subic.
DILG Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento graced the roll-out for Visayas Cluster on February 8 and is expected to join the Mindanao cluster on February 14, 2016. The Secretary provides guidance as well as inspires DILG officers to implement BuB down to the grassroots level. During other BuB consultation conferences, Sec. Sarmiento said that the expansion of the BuB was the result of the clamor of the officers and members of the Liga ng mga Barangay in the country, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), and the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP).
He further said that the government is bringing BuB down to the grassroots level to ensure that the need for services and facilities of barangays are met. Also, by enabling barangays to implement projects which they have identified and prioritized through a process of citizen participation in planning and budgeting, the Government hopes to improve governance at the barangay level.
The activity, which aims to provide the participants with better understanding of BuB; discuss directives and strategies/ guidelines of the implementation; and implement formulation plan for 2016 is being participated in by DILG Regional/Provincial and City Directors, Cluster Team Leaders and City/ Municipal Local Government Operations Officers.
Luzon 1 Cluster (Regions 4-A and 4B) was held on January 31 - February 2, 2016 while Luzon 2 Cluster (Regions 1,2,3 and CAR) and Luzon 3 Cluster (Region 5 and NCR) were conducted on February 1 - 3, 2016.