THIRTEEN cities in Negros Occidental may lose P600 million per year in their Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) due to the recent Supreme Court ruling upholding the cityhood of 16 towns all over the country.
Additional cities will mean more cities to avail and divide the IRA.
While this might be good news to the newly proclaimed cities as their IRA will definitely increase, it also means that existing cities will have a lesser share of the IRA.
To dramatize their sentiments on the projected budget cut, city mayors from the province will join their counterparts from the rest of the country for a march protest to the Supreme Court on March 8 to show their opposition to its latest decision on the cityhood issue.
This was confirmed by Bago City Mayor Ramon Torres, who scored the high court’s flip-flop decision on the issue.
Torres said city mayors all over the country will meet in Manila on March 7. The next day, they will march to the Supreme Court as a show of protest against the decision.
For Bago City alone, the IRA reduction will amount to P40 million, stressed Torres.
He added the IRA of Sagay and San Carlos cities in northern Negros as well as that of Bacolod City will also decrease by a similar amount.
Cadiz faces a P45 million reduction in its IRA.
For his part, Sipalay City Mayor Oscar Montilla said that, once the 16 localities will become cities, about P30 million is expected to be deducted from Sipalay’s IRA.
He said that he is also strongly opposing the decision of the Supreme Court and, if his schedule will allow it, he will also join the rest of his peers in the protest march in Manila.
Himamaylan City Mayor Agustin Bascon said that he will join his colleagues in the march to the Supreme Court, as its decision also means a reduction of its IRA by more than P40 million.
The mayors contended that the reduction will adversely affect the various programs and projects drawn up for their respective constituents and will substantially affect the delivery of services to the people.
The Supreme Court, in the latest of a series of back-and-forth rulings, upheld the cityhood status of 16 Philippine municipalities.
Covered by the ruling are Carcar, Bogo and Naga in Cebu; Baybay in Leyte; Catbalogan in Samar; Tandag in Surigao del Sur; Borongan in Eastern Samar; Tayabas in Quezon province; Lamitan in Basilan; Tabuk in Kalinga; Bayugan in Agusan del Sur; Batac in Ilocos Norte; Mati in Davao Oriental; Guihulngan in Negros Oriental; Cabadbaran in Agusan del Norte; and El Salvador in Misamis Oriental. (Teresa Ellera-Dulla)
Published in the Sun.Star Bacolod newspaper on March 02, 2011.
Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/bacolod/local-news/2011/03/02/negros-occidental-cities-may-lose-p600myear-142620