Davao del Norte execs laud Pampanga gov for ‘remarkable’ local income

By Carlo Lorenzo J. Datu

Thursday 14th of June 2012

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, June 14 (PIA) -- Delegates from the provincial government of Davao del Norte lauded the leadership of the Pampanga governor for the remarkable local income of the province through the quarry operations, tax collection, and the almost-complete tax mapping operations.

The delegates led by Provincial Planning and Development Officer Josie Jean Rabanoz said their group hah chosen Pampanga, through the leadership of Pampanga governor Lilia G. Pineda, as the benchmark for income generation in their province.

Rabanoz said their official visit to this province is part of the capacity development and interventions of Provincial Roads Management Facilities (PRMF) funded by Australian Government Aid Program (AustAid), wherein Davao del Norte is one of the 10 beneficiary-provinces.

During the conference held Wednesday at the Executive House of the Capitol, Engr. Manuel Mendoza Jr. of the Provincial Assessor’s Office (PAO) presented the tax mapping accomplishments of Pampanga.

Mendoza said the provincial government through the PAO had already achieved 94 percent accomplishment of their tax mapping operations which started in 2010, which is equivalent to 581,683 real property units discovered in Pampanga.

Provincial Administration Andres Pangilinan said the Pampanga government is expecting an increase in tax collection for the newly discovered real property units, as well as the reclassified property units during the tax mapping.

Pangilinan also disclosed that the province has not imposed any tax revision in the last 16 years yet the province has remained debt-free throughout the years that passed.

“One of governor Lilia Pineda’s objectives is to minimize the province’s dependency on the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA), which is provided by the national government, so we are exhausting all resources to generate more income for Pampanga,” Pangilinan added.

Meanwhile, Arthur Punzalan, provincial government environment and natural resources officer (PGENRO) also presented the income generated by the province from quarry operations during the Pineda administration.

According to Punzalan, the key to the successful quarry operations and collection in Pampanga is the constant and open communication among the officials of the provincial government led by the governor, town mayors, and quarry operators.

“Imposing appropriate fees is easier when the stakeholders are on the same level, that’s why we always conduct dialogues between the concerned parties to ensure that all their queries are addressed,” Punzalan stated.

Punzalan and Pangilinan both stressed that the governor’s political will is also a contributing factor for the province’s success in income generation.

“This visit in Pampanga is a learning experience, and it helped us come up with new strategies, approaches, and policies to be imposed to improve income generation,” Rabanoz ended.

Board member Monz Laus, Provincial Planning and Development Officer Andy Henson, Provincial Engineer Renato Guttierez, Provincial Agriculturist Chris Guinto and Arts, Culture and Toursim Officer Arwin Lingat also attended the conference. (CLJD-PIA3 with reports from Pampanga PIO)