BRIEF HISTORY OF THE OFFICE OF THE CITY BUDGET
The Office of the City Budget of Zamboanga started in 1979, only as a division under the Office of then City Administrator, Mr. Jose Maria Bucoy and became a separate office with the proclamation of Letter of Instruction No. 1039 of President Ferdinand E. Marcos in June 19, 1980, which provided for the creation of Local Budget Offices. The creation of this Office was fully realized by virtue of Ordinance No. 73 enacted by the Sangguniang Panlungsod on April 8, 1980 and subsequently approved by then Mayor Cesar C. Climaco on April 10, 1980 and later took effect on May 1, 1980.
The following guidelines and decrees underlie the creation and existence of the Budget Office, containing among others the definition of terms, content and form, processes in budgeting, viz:
| Statute | Details |
| PD No. 477 dated June 3, 1974 | The Decree on Local Fiscal Administration (Chapter III- Budgeting) In here, budgeting terms have been defined including its form and content, and procedure in budgeting; |
| PD No. 1375 May 16, 1978 | Transferring to the Budget Commission the Functions of Local Government Budget Administration. It provides that Local Government Units (LGUs) shall constitute and include in their administrative organization a unit responsible for budgeting functions under the Local Chief Executive; |
| LBC No. 2 January 5, 1979 | Creation of Local Government Budget Office. This provides the organization and staffing of budget offices of Local Government Units, duties and responsibilities, qualifications, compensation, appointing authority and implementing provisions; |
| LBC No. 6 May 12, 1980 | Amendment to Local Budget Circular No. 2; and |
| Republic Act 7160 | The Local Government Code of 1991- Sec. 475 of this code specifies the qualifications, powers and duties of the Budget Officer. |
In general, the annual accomplishment of the City Budget Office can best be summarized within the context of the five (5) processes, namely: Budget Preparation, Budget Authorization, Budget Review, Budget Execution and Budget Accountability.
The initial staffing of the office was composed of:
Ms. Virginia San Agustin Gara City Budget Officer
Mr. Daniel C. Garcia Budget Analyst
Mr. Ferdinando A. Alvarez Budget Examiner
Ms. Teodora B. Guarino Budget Aide
Today, the present composition of the staffing pattern of the office has greatly increased to thirty-five (35) filled-up plantilla positions and eight casual positions. However, five (5) casual personnel were re-assigned to the Procurement Service (PS) Zamboanga Sub-Depot, which is under the management and supervision of the Office of the City Budget.