Quezon City's budget surplus soars to P1 billion

The Quezon City government’s budget surplus has reached more than P1 billion, city treasurer Victor Endriga said yesterday.

The city government has collected P9.8 billion in taxes so far this year and this figure is expected to reach P10 billion before the year ends, he said.

“This is the biggest tax collection in the past seven years”, he said, adding that the city collected only P8.8 billion during the same period last year.

The big tax haul came as Quezon City was cited as the most competitive city in Metro Manila in a survey conducted by the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) for 2007.

Quezon City has been holding the title as the richest local government unit in the country in the past seven years.

Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. during his year-end message during last Monday’s flag-raising ceremony that the financial gains of the city would be an asset in facing the economic storm sweeping across the globe.

He said the city government is also working with the national government in implementing long-delayed infrastructure projects that encountered rights-of-way problems.

“The city government has advanced payments for road rights-of-way so that projects can be implemented,” he said.

One of the projects is the construction of a flyover that will connect the Kalayaan Avenue to Mindanao Avenue and practically linked the South Expressway to North Expressway.     – Perseus Echeminada