LINGAYEN, PANGASINAN—Effective fiscal management and transparent transactions are among the indelible marks of excellence of Governor Ramon V. Guico III’s administration.
With the approval of the almost P3 billion supplemental budget for the operation of the Provincial Government of Pangasinan on September 2, more programs and projects are underway.
Enacted through an ordinance during the regular session of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) on September 2, the budget will finance various programs and projects of the provincial government, including the salary increase of employees.
It can be recalled that when Governor Ramon V. Guico III assumed office in July 2022, one of the herculean tasks he vowed to improve was the collection of revenues.
A revolutionary and game-changing leader, the provincial chief executive rallied for big-ticket projects that will redound to the history of the province. All of which will contribute to increasing the province’s revenues.
From this, there was a gigantic increase in revenue. Gov. Guico has recently proposed an increase in the annual budget for the province from the current P5.7 billion to a whopping P7 billion in 2025.
“On the economy side, my thrust is actually to increase the revenues for the province. So by 2025, we are proposing at least a P7 billion annual budget for the province, a big jump from our budget right now, which is more or less about P5.7 billion,” the governor stated.
Citing the efficient and honest collection in the assessment of the real property taxes as among the salient factors in increasing local sources of revenue, Gov. Guico further disclosed that several challenges were met, notably in quarry operations.
“When I implemented the new system of quarry operations for Pangasinan, we were challenged because the collection back then from the previous administration was only P12 million per year for all the six districts of the province,” he said.
Consistent in its target to properly collect revenue taxes, the Provincial Treasurer’s Office (PTO), led by Ms. Cristy C. Ubando, reported that the province collected tax on sand, gravel, and other quarry products amounting to PP176,196,152.16 as of August 30, 2024. The target income is P120,000,000.00, thereby incurring an overcollection of P56,196,152.16 for the aforementioned revenues alone.
Under the present administration, new systems were implemented. An online app is now being utilized to monitor the collections, including some legal basis for collections and some regulations that need to be instituted.
“We were able to collect, I think, the projection is about P250 million a year, which, I’m sure, we will be hitting that target this year. And I’m positive that it’s going to be more than the P250 million target. So it’s a big jump,” Gov. Guico disclosed.
True enough, the province, as of August 30, posted a total revenue collection of P4,457,290,224.59. The province’s estimated income, on the other hand, totaled P5,729,765,891.00, which means that only about P1,272,475,666.41 is yet to be collected.
Based on the report, the province incurred over-collected dues on local taxes covering the following: Professional Tax; Amusement Tax; Real Property Transfer Tax; Real Property Tax-Basic; Tax on Sand, Gravel, and Other Quarry Products; Tax on Delivery Trucks and Vans; Fines and Penalties-Property Tax; Fines and Penalties-Taxes on Goods and Services. The actual tax collections for the above-mentioned amounted to P413,041,965.68, while the target collection totaled P317,350,000.00. An overcollection of P95,691,965.68 was posted.
For the total national taxes, particularly shares from National Tax Allocation, National Wealth, and Tobacco Excise Tax, the province collected P3,555,613,172.32 from its estimated income of P4,970,145,891.00.
Under service and business income, the province collected an amount of P465,888,826.94, which exceeded the target income of P417,270,000.00 by P48,618,826.94. Service income includes permit fees, registration fees, and inspection fees. Business income, on the other hand, includes hospital fees, waterworks system fees, rent income, income from hotels, and interest income.
Gov. Guico attributed the tremendous accomplishment in revenue collections to the honest-to-goodness thrust of the provincial government. “When I assumed office, it’s one of the things I want to regulate. It’s one of the things that I want to fix and properly manage,” he said.
(Ruby F. Rayat/PIMRO)
