THREE cities in Cebu were recognized by the Bureau of Local Government Finance for landing in the top 10 among all cities in the Philippines in terms of collection efficiency and growth of locally sourced revenue.
The Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) recognized Mandaue City for placing ninth among all the cities in the Philippines in the 2019 Collection Efficiency of Locally Sourced Revenue.
Jessie Doctolero, regional director of BLGF, handed the certificate to Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes and City Treasurer lawyer Regal Oliva on Tuesday, October 12, 2021.
In an interview, Doctolero said the award shows that the local government of Mandaue is doing its job in terms of efficiently collecting local revenues.
These local revenues consist of local business taxes, real property taxes, receipts from the operations of local economic enterprises, local fees and surcharges, and exclude the internal revenue allotment (IRA).
Doctolero said he commended the collectors in Mandaue City for doing a great job in collecting the taxes that are needed by the city government.
He said Mandaue’s collection efficiency was 131.7 percent as the target collection for 2019 was P1.429 billion, but the city treasurer collected P1.882 billion.
For 2020, Doctolero said they have yet to acquire the data. However, he said they expected the revenues to be affected, especially the business taxes, because 2020 is when the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic began.
He said this award was supposed to be handed over last February at the central office, but due to the quarantine restrictions and prohibition on gatherings amid the pandemic, they opted to visit the city personally.
Aside from Mandaue City, Doctolero said Cebu City also ranked fourth on the 2019 Collection Efficiency of Locally Sourced Revenue while Talisay City ranked fourth on the Growth of its Locally Sourced Revenue in comparison to 2018 collections.
Cebu City had a 145.1 percent collection efficiency after collecting P5.199 billion in locally sourced revenue (LSR) against the target of P3.584 billion.
Talisay City, on the other hand, collected P320.96 million in LSR in 2019. The BLGF did not say how much Talisay collected in 2018.
Doctolero said Mandaue City was also nominated for Best Practice in its recovery initiatives to help rebuild the economy.
With this, they also validated the supporting documents that were submitted to the central office of the BLGF.
He said Mandaue City was selected for granting incentives to business establishments, particularly those extending assistance in providing some services for Covid-19 response in accordance with the local government code.
The BLGF also recognized the programs and initiatives of the city to contribute to the economy as a whole.
Aside from Mandaue City, Doctolero said the municipalities of San Fernando and Dumanjug in Cebu were nominated as the Best LGU (local government unit) in efficient allocation of funds and resources. (KFD)