Liloan sees hike in 2009 income

CEBU, Philippines – The income of the Municipality of Liloan is expected to increase this year owing to the passage of the Revised Revenue Code of 2009, said Mayor Vincent Franco Frasco.

“I am very excited to see how much our local income will increase this year. Since the Local Revenue Code had not been revised for over 10 years, I expect a good jump in local income for the year 2009, which means more funds to provide services for the benefit of the people of Liloan,” Frasco said.

Frasco said as of Sept. of 2008, the municipality has been formally classified by the Department of Finance as a 1st Class Municipality, which means that the town’s local income, excluding the Internal Revenue Allotment, has increased dramatically.

Based on comparable data between 2005 and 2008, the town’s collection of local taxes increased by 50 percent – from P6.7 million in 2005 to P10.05 million last year.

Income from permit and licenses also increased by 25 percent from P1.4 million in 2005 to P1.8 million in 2008.   Frasco also boasted of the 169 percent increase of the town’s service income from P1.3 million in 2005 to P3.4 million last year.

“You ask how?  Well, a concrete example can be seen in our garbage fee collections – wherein, in 2005, we collected a total of only 24,000 pesos whereas in 2008, we collected a total of more than six-hundred fifty-four thousand pesos,” Frasco said.

He also cited the town’s business income, which increased by 93 percent from P1.05 million in 2005 to P2.04 million in 2008.

“Looking back at the last six months of 2007, we were working with a budget crafted by the previous administration. At that time, we were very limited in our capacity to pursue our own objectives,” Frasco said.

He said the increase of the town’s income can be attributed to the support given by officials of the time, especially the vice mayor, town council, and the chairman of the council’s committee on budget and finance. — Garry B. Lao/JMO