4 Richest P'gasinan Towns “Flaunt” 2019 Budget

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

BAYAMBANG – Together with three other first class towns, this highly populated 77 villages’ town in Pangasinan leads other municipalities with their highest annual appropriation budget (AAB) this year.

This thriving town has an AAB of PhP506 million while Sual, Malasiqui, and Mangaldan have PhP350 million, PhP333 million, and, PhP312.5 million, respectively this year.

VISIONARY MAYORS - From left clockwise: Bayambang Mayor Cezar T. Quiambao, Sual Mayor Roberto "Bing" Arcinue, Malasiqui Mayor Noel Anthony Geslani, and Mangaldan Mayor Bona Fe D. Parayno. 

“We have PhP506 million budget this year  where some come from the disposal of assets in Magsaysay,” Mayor Cezar T. Quiambo told the crowd from the public and private sectors who witnessed the inauguration of the proposed LGU housing project in Barangay Bical Sur here.

Quiambao told reporters that every year his family controlled corporations like Stradcom and other businesses like a mall  pay more than PhP 80 million of their taxes  in this town.

 Western Pangasinan located Sual however faces a problem because many members of her Sangguniang Bayan or Legislature held hostage its PhP350 million proposed budget.

According to an exasperated town mayor Roberto Arcinue that he had sent last October 10, 2018 all the necessary documents for the annual appropriation budget to the Sangguniang Bayan or legislature but as of press time they did not act for it.

A source who asked for anonymity told this newspaper that some councilors allegedly asked the mayor for one million pesos each of them favor so they will pass the budget ordinance.

Section 323 of the Local Government Code states that in case the sanggunian concerned fails to pass the ordinance authorizing the annual appropriations at the beginning of the ensuing fiscal year, it shall continue to hold sessions, without additional remuneration for its members, until such ordinance is approved, and no other business may be taken up during such sessions. If the sanggunian still fails to enact such ordinance after ninety (90) days from the beginning of the fiscal year, the ordinance authorizing the appropriations of the preceding year shall be deemed reenacted and shall remain in force and effect until the ordinance authorizing the proposed appropriations is passed by the sanggunian concerned. However, only the annual appropriations for salaries and wages of existing positions, statutory and contractual obligations, and essential operating expenses authorized in the annual and supplemental budgets for the preceding year shall be deemed reenacted and disbursement of funds shall be in accordance therewith.

Sual had more than PhP300 million AAB last year.
Most of the taxes of this tiny town came each year from more or less P200 million business taxes of the Team Sual Corporation (TSC) and San Miguel Corporation (SMC) that procured and sold in the market the electricity generated by the TSC.

“Other revenues came from the annual P110 million Internal Revenue Allotment from the national government, the Real Property Taxes, share from the Special Education Fund, tens of million pesos a year business tax from the huge hundreds of bangus fish cages where this town was dubbed by the Bureau of Fisheries & Natural Resources as the biggest milk fish producer in the country, and others,” Arcinue stressed.

Because of the huge revenues from these entities, the social services given back by the Arcinue Administration to its constituents could not be emulated by any cities or towns in Pangasinan and probably by other local government units in Northern Luzon.

Mangaldan Mayor Bonafe D. Parayno once crowed to this newspaper that the Central Pangasinan town burgeoned because everyday there is a market day thanks to the economic spill over of neighboring Dagupan City.

The other projects Parayno have been implementing are the Triple A slaughter house and the Phase II of the 76 stalls market areas that has been funded by a loan of P40 million from the Land Bank of the Philippines.

“It has been renovated, rehabilated with a cost of ten million pesos in order to get a triple A ratings to the town’s vision,” she cited the abattoir where businessmen in Dagupan City and other towns in Pangasinan patronized for the slaughter of their livestock.

Parayno wanted the thriving town to be the Meat Processing Capital of Pangasinan.

“Kilala ang Mangaldan at ito ang dinarayo kaya panahon na para ipakita sa ating turista lahat ng turista  na ang ating bayan ay hinde napapagiwanan ng panahon,” she said.

This town, Sual, Malasiqui, and Mangaldan have a population based on the 2015 Philippines Statistics Authority of 118,205, 34,149, 130,275, and 106,331, respectively.

An official of the Commission on Election (Comelec) told this writer last November that among the voters in the 44 towns and 4 cities’ province, this town, Sual, Malasiqui, and Mangaldan have 75, 911, 28, 940, 81, 342, and 65, 115 registered voters, respectively.

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