Compared to San Fabian, Basista, Manaoag, Binmaley
By Mortz C. Ortigoza
DAGUPAN CITY –
Among the local government units (LGU) in Pangasinan, it is probably the capital town Lingayen
that faces a small reduction of its budget next year compared to towns like San Fabian,
Basista, Manaoag, and Binmaley.
Due to the three years as basis of the division of the national tax allotment (NAT) to every LGU in the country, Lingayen has to heed the entreaty of the Sanggunian Panlalawigan (provincial legislature) to reduce by P3 million its proposed budget of P380, 650, 708 for fiscal year 2023.
LINGAYEN MAYOR Leopoldo Bataoil (upper left photo and clockwise), Basista Mayor Jolly R. Resuello, Manaoag Mayor Jeremy Agerico Rosario, and San Fabian Mayor Constante Agbayani. |
“That’s the projection we’re expecting to
achieve but then we were tempered by the Sanggunian Panlalawigan whom I
attended. We explained we were optimistic that we are able to achieve that
much. How they tempered us we respect the suggestion of the august body,” Mayor Leopoldo Bataoil told Northern Watch Newspaper.
Because of the
reduction of the P3 million, the additional four positions he wanted to be
created “have been relegated to the
sideline”.
During his First
100 Days Report to his constituents on October 10, 2022, Bataoil was zealous to
collect more taxes like those in the market stalls, real property taxes, and
other sources to buttress the public coffer.
San Fabian Vice
Mayor Danny Agbayani said his first class town will have a P274 million budget next year after P43 million was not included to it.
Despite the
shrinking of the coffer, the former mayor said his town under the leadership of
his wife Mayor Marlyn
Espino-Agbayani has
countless farm-to market roads, road pavement, slope protections, and creation
and repair of public schools.
He said the
hundreds of millions of pesos of projects from the national government were through
the intercession of his relative Senator Imee Marcos – the brother of the
Philippines President.
“Marami. Kasi from the north ako pero relatives
ko sila,” he said about
the Marcosses.
Basista Mayor Jolly
R. Resuelo deplored the P32 million reduction from the present P157 million
budget for his fourth class town next year.
“Dito sa amin mababawasan kami ng P32 million.
Malaki na iyan para sa amin kasi maliit na bayan lang kami”.
Despite the more
than P130 million budget there will be no retrenchment for the present number
of the municipal employees.
Mayors Jeremy
Agerico Rosario and Pedro Merrera of Manaoag and Binmaley, respectively, told Northern Watch Newspaper that they face
a budget shrinking. Manaoag and Binmaley have a present
budget of P268 million and P350 million, respectively.
With P40 million
and P44 million taken from the present budget, the proposed budget of Manaoag
and Binmaley in fiscal year 2023 will be reduced to P228 million and P306
million, respectively.
The Local
Government Code of the Philippines cited that the LGUs shall have a share in
the national internal revenue taxes based on the collection of the third fiscal
year preceding the current fiscal year as follows:… (c) On the third year and
thereafter, forty percent (40%).
According to the
Department of Budget and Management, due to the drop in tax revenues collected
by the government in 2020 at the onset of the Corona Virus Disease - 19
pandemic local governments’ share in the proposed 2023 national budget will be
diminished to P820.3 billion,
A local budget memorandum issued by the DBM said that LGUs share
from all tax collections in 2020, which was the basis of their 2023 national
tax allotment (NTA), included P665.8 billion from the Bureau of Internal
Revenue’s (BIR) tax take two years ago; P154.4 billion from the Bureau of
Customs’ collections of import duties and other taxes, and; P32.6 million in
national taxes collected by other agencies.
When divided to all
local government units, the country’s 82 provinces will have an NTA share of
P188.7 billion, which they will divide among themselves; the 146 cities, also
P188.7 billion; the 1,488 municipalities, P278.9 billion; notwithstanding the
P164.1 billion to be subdivided among the 41,935 villages or barangays
nationwide.
Next year’s NTA
will be below the record P959.04 billion in this year’s P5.02-trillion national
budget—the first annual appropriation that implemented the Supreme Court’s
Mandanas-Garcia ruling. LGUs’ 2022 NTA was based on all tax collections in
2019.
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