By Ben Contreras THERE seems to be a need to check on how much the income of Cagayan de Oro City really is. Based on National Statistic Coordination Board (NSCB) and Googled reports, the Local Government of Cagayan de Oro City has/had the following incomes: 2008 - P1,919 billion 2010 - P1.82 billion (said to be P146 million higher than 2009’s) 2011 - P1.7 billion 2012 - P2.041 billion 2013 – P2 billion more or less 2014 - P2.278 billion per Statement of Income report by City Accountant Beda Joy Elot Assuming that the figures are accurate, the income in 2009 declined by P245 million, up by P146 million in 2010, down by P120 million in 2011, up by P341 million in 2012, steadied in 2013 and up in 2014 at P2.278. If 2012 shows an increase of more or less P341 million and about the same in 2013, how come 2014 shows only an increase of approximately P278 million when the city had been collecting higher rates in business taxes? If there was an increase of P341 million in 2012 over 2011, why was there no increase in 2013 over 2012? But 2013 was an election year. Did some money go missing? I would like to go back to the question on why we have Dr. Glenn Bañez as our treasurer, and not a local. Is Cagayan de Oro so bereft of good accountants that our mayor has to get someone from Quezon City? A throwback to a not-so-distant past, Dr. Bañez told us at Minindal eatery that the city has a potential income of P7 billion to P12 billion if taxes are collected accurately. He must have meant that if business taxes are collected according to the Tax Code. He also said he was sent by Speaker Belmonte to assist Mayor Moreno in collecting the right taxes. Why? Was Speaker Belmonte telling us that Dongkoy had not been collecting the right taxes or was he giving a cue that the reported income all those years were not the actual income but more? How much more? This reminds me of an article written by Sen. Manny Villar in 2000 that 30 percent to 40 percent of the national budget will go to the pockets of the politicians. Nobody reacted, disputed it, and the silence was just so deafening. Mayor Moreno asked for a P3.7-billion budget for 2014. The majority gave him only P2.2 billion. Moreno and his allies accused the majority of undermining his administration by not giving him enough money to use for his so-called projects and basic services. Yet at the end of year 2014, the P2.2-budget approved had savings of P600 million. Wala gani mahurot ang P2.2 billion, unya mangayo ug P3.7 billion. Granting that the majority is with the mayor and his budget of P3.7 billion was given, let’s just say 30 percent, not 30 percent to 40 percent, went to the wrong pockets. That would be P1.12 billion or P1,200 million, and that’s peanut to you, eh! I am curious how much income for 2015 would be reported. The business sector was and is still up in arms against the steep taxes collected from them. The city council majority approved a revised Business Tax Code which the current administration refuses to implement despite the court’s decision in favor of the new tax code. Never mind the stories about who built new houses, who bought new cars, and who live in posh subdivisions and whose lifestyles dramatically changed. (Yet, Dr. Bañez has accused the businessmen, without batting his eyelash, that they are “sinungaling.”) I can only think of four persons who know the real income of the city: the city treasurer, the city accountant, and perhaps, the budget officer, and the mayor. That which we do not know won’t harm, right? Wrong.