Cebu remains richest province

CEBU, Philippines — Of the 81 provinces in the country, Cebu remains richest, according to the Commission on Audit (COA). This was based on the 2016 COA report that was made available to the media late last week.

COA said Cebu has total assets amounting to P32.43 billion, which is over P2 billion higher than the 2015 audit result of P30.33 million.

The amount is almost three times the total assets of Rizal province, which is the second richest province in the country.

Cebu Vice Governor Agnes Magpale said she was very happy with the development, and lauded everyone in the province who did their best to attain this success.

She especially cited the Provincial Treasurer's Office and the Provincial Budget Office.

She said there were multiple contributing factors for the province remaining the richest. To name a few, she mentioned the yearly increase in the annual budget, outstanding financial management, and higher tax collection.

With this, she expected that more investors will come to Cebu, adding that they can greatly contribute in the areas of tourism and in creating gateways for better accessibility across the island.

Ranking below Cebu and Rizal are the provinces of Negros Occidental, Batangas, Bulacan, Palawan, Iloilo, Laguna, Nueva Ecija and Leyte. This shows that the most number of rich provinces are located in the Visayas and in Luzon. Iloilo and Nueva Ecija are new in the list, replacing Negros Oriental and Cavite.

Meanwhile, Cebu City also remained on the list of top 10 richest cities in the Philippines.

It is at fourth place with assets totaling P32.623 billion in 2016, or P200 million higher than the P32.41 billion in assets in 2015.

The richest city is still Quezon with P59.556 billion, followed by Makati, Manila, Cebu, Pasig, Taguig, Pasay, Caloocan, Davao, and Iligan, with Davao as new in the list. (FREEMAN)