New mayors asked: Be active in tax collection

CEBU, Philippines - The 60 new municipal mayors in Cebu and other parts of Central Visayas are asked to strengthen tax collection efforts so their local governments would not be dependent entirely on their share of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA).

 Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) 7 Assistant Director Herminigilda Garsula said that as of now, most towns and cities in the region could not survive without their IRA share partly because of inefficiency in tax collection.

If the mayors would be active in tax collection, she said, their local governments would not have that much problems in implementing projects.

 One of the reasons that many mayors are hesitant to enforce a strict collection of taxes is the fear of losing in the next elections.

But Lorenzo Ubalde, programme manager of Galing Pook Foundation that grants awards to LGU’s with best practices, said the mayors should not be afraid to impose taxes if their intention is only to improve the needs of the majority of their constituents.

Ubalde advised the new mayors to be transparent of their transactions, meaning they should inform their constituents of how they spent the money that they collected as taxes.

Garsula was tasked during a two-day seminar for new elected officials to give a lecture on how local government units can collect taxes and fees out of regulatory services, as well as additional income with economic enterprises like terminals and slaughter houses.

“Improve your local sources of regular income through better assessments and collections. Do not depend on the IRA as primary source to finance development because IRA is not within your control, the amount is not stable,” Garsula told the new mayors.

Anilao, Iloilo Mayor Ma. Theresa Debunque also shared her experience with the new officials. Her town was a successful case of transformation from a “small, sleepy town” to one that won several awards during her first term.

Debunque said that the usual attitude of most new mayors is to quickly remove workers who supported their opponents. But in her case, she gave them a chance to prove that they are worth to be retained.

“Now these workers who used to support my opponents already became my diehard supporters,” she said.

Civil Service Commission (CSC) 7 legal officer Ariel Bacatan advised the mayors to respect the security of tenure of the government employees, saying the mayors could be sanctioned if they terminate employees, transfer them to other positions that would result to demotion of ranks and salaries.

Bacatan also clarified that the mayors are not prohibited from appointing their relatives to government positions, but only for the non-career positions.

In Cebu City, however, Mayor-elect Michael Rama had already announced that he will not hire any of his relatives to work the city.

For his part, Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas Pelagio Apostol warned the new mayors to be careful in spending government resources without appropriations ordinance from their legislative bodies.

Apostol had asked the new mayors to be united in the fight against graft and corruption.

For his part, Department of Interior and Local Government 7 Legal Officer Danilo Almendras warned the new chief executives to make sure that the processing of documents within their respective offices will not be delayed.

Almendras cited Section 7 of the anti-red tape law which states that it is presumed that the mayors had prior knowledge of what is going on in their respective offices that is why they would be liable for any unnecessary delays.   (FREEMAN NEWS)