It’s final: Oca wantsP5.4-b 2017 budget

By: Shiela Mae Butlig and Lito Rulona
Correspondent

MAYOR Oscar Moreno on Monday announced that he would submit a proposed P5.4-billion budget for 2017 to the city council this month.

With the city council dominated by political allies of the mayor this time, Moreno said he was confident his proposed budget would get the legislature’s approval unlike in the first three years of his mayorship.

Moreno’s proposed budget would be submitted on or before the Oct. 16 deadline.

If approved, the Moreno administration would have a general fund of P4.094 billion, P500 million for debt payments, P444.340 million for special education, P281.617 million for development and P171.592 million for disaster risk reduction management.

Moreno’s proposed budget for 2017 is a far cry from city hall’s budget this year. For this year, he submitted a proposed P3.8-billion budget but the previous city council reduced it by P1 billion.

Councilor Reuben Daba said the city council would need to find out if Moreno’s proposed budget could be justified by checking on the local government’s finances.

“Ako, para sa Kagay-anon, mo-support gyud ko pero amung tanawun kung para sa unsa kana ug kaya ba sa atong panudlanan kay lisud kung mglihok kita beyond our means,” said Daba.

Daba said it was understandable why city hall’s budget is increasing every year–Cagayan de Oro has continued to experience rapid growth.

“Gadako sa paspas nga lakang ang atong dakbayan busa ang budget gadako pud,” he said.

Councilor Edna Dahino, chairperson of the city council’s  finance committee, said she has yet to get hold of a copy of Moreno’s proposed budget.

Meanwhile, city treasurer Glenn Bañez said the Moreno administration could justify its proposed budget for 2017 as he sees as significant increase in city hall’s tax collections, including delinquent real property tax payments, next year.

Bañez said Moreno’s proposal is based on city hall’s income this year which is projected to reach P3.2 billion by year-end and new big sources of taxes. He said city hall would also intensify the collection of delinquent real property taxes placed at some P935 million.

He said city hall’s collections would dramatically increase with the opening of new establishments like the second SM mall here.

“We can generate more taxes coming from business establishments inside SM. Daghan pud developments coming like condominiums. Dili nato i-process ang ilang transfer tax kung dili sila mo-process sa ilang business tax on the sale of property,” Bañez said.

Aside from that, Bañez has also projected a 15-percent increase in city hall’s internal revenue share (IRA) from the national government.

Real estate tax collections would receive a boost next year because of the end of tax holidays.

For instance, he said, the SM mall in  Upper Carmen would start paying city hall 100 percent of its real property tax next year.

Bañez said Centrio Mall would also do the same thing after enjoying a tax holiday provided for in the Cagayan de Oro Investment Incentive Code.

He said he was optimistic that a serious collection of taxes next year would make Moreno’s ambitious proposed budget a reality.

“The plus factor is, we now have the support of the city council. Kaya kaayo ang P5 billion,” Bañez said.

He said city hall has already started a campaign to collect delinquent real property taxes.

“We have started sending delinquent notices,” said Bañez, adding that the local government would go to the extent of auctioning off the real property of delinquent taxpayers.