Mangaldan is richer than other major towns

BY MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

MANGALDAN – Among major towns in Pangasinan, this town is millions of pesos richer in terms of appropriation for the fiscal year budget of 2012.

According to Dr. Rose Ramirez Hulipas, executive officer of Mayor Herminio Romero, this first class town will have a P145 million appropriation for next year.

Based on the survey done by this paper, this 4^th congressional district municipality appropriates P145 million for next year’s budget, followed by the P138 million of Santa Barbara, P132 Calasiao, and P130 of capital town Lingayen.

Dr. Hulipas said that one of the major sources of revenues here are the laboratories of renowned pharmaceutical companies that buttressed the coffer of this town.

According to an economic–political kibitzer who asked anonymity, although Santa Barbara’s

public market is not as imposing as what this town and the other two towns, just like this municipality it derives tens of millions of pesos from two mammoth business entities like the bottling plants of Ginebra San Miguel at Brgy.Tebag West  and RC Cola in Brgy. Marunong.

According to the source Ginebra and RC Cola pay P21 million and roughly P8 million business taxes yearly, respectively.

“This made Sta. Barbara and Mangaldan different to other town in Pangasinan. It is more aggressive to attract investors to put shop at their turf,” he stressed.

Business entities like the pharmaceuticals in this town and the business behemoths in Sta. Barbara not only pay business taxes, but generate employment among their towns’ people.

This town and Sta. Barbara are the ideal host for the mammoth SM Prime Holdings, Inc. mall as neighboring Dagupan City’s political leaders stalled her hosting because of economic interest among them.

“Calasiao has insufficient land to host SM after Robinson Land Corporation bought a five-hectare real property in Brgy. San Miguel there.

The source said that Brgy. Anolid in this town that borders with Dagupan City and Brgy. Ventinilla in Sta. Barbara are the place considered by the owners of the retail giant.

Meanwhile, because of the outward looking and able leadership of Mayor Romero, this town bags the “Safest, Cleanest, & Greenest award” given by the provincial government this year.

According to Romero, the awards given to them were a result of the joint efforts from the town’s executive and legislative departments and the townspeople who were very supportive in giving inspiration to officials like him in pursuing such activities, projects and others.

Moreover, the mayor said the Regional Search for the 2011 Cleanest, Safest, & Greenest LGU began and Mangaldan was already evaluated.

Aside from the award given to them, this town also took 2^nd place in the Inland Body of Water category .