Parañaque 6th richest city in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Parañaque was recognized as the sixth richest among cities nationwide in terms of locally sourced revenues (LSR) for 2021, according to a report released last month by the Department of Finance Bureau of Local Government Finance (DOF-BLGF).

BLGF executive director Niño Raymond Alvina said Parañaque earned P6.2 billion in revenues last year.

The revenues came from real property and business taxes as well as non-tax revenues.

The BLGF listed the top 10 richest provinces, cities and municipalities for 2021. The selection was based on the performance areas of nominal locally sourced revenue, collection efficiency of LSR and year-on-year growth in LSR.

City treasurer Anthony Pulmano said the tax initiatives implemented by former mayor Edwin Olivarez made Parañaque one of the richest local government units nationwide.

Pulmano said under Olivarez’s leadership, the city generated more than P20 billion in real property taxes from 2013 to 2021. The city  posted almost P4 billion in business tax collections in 2020.

Parañaque is also debt-free, according to Pulmano.

He expressed optimism that under the leadership of Mayor Eric Olivarez, the local government will get the same recognition in the coming years as the city is “on track in surpassing its tax collection target.”

“Because of Pulmano’s exemplary performance in tax collection, Parañaque, from a sleepy town three decades ago, is now one of the richest cities in the Philippines,” Olivarez said.

Olivarez noted that the increasing number of business establishments operating in the city before the pandemic have contributed to the hefty tax haul.

Quezon City ranked first for achieving the highest nominal LSR in 2021 with P22.9 billion followed by Makati with P13.7 billion; Manila, P11.5 billion; Taguig, P10.7 billion, and Pasig with P8.6 billion.

Parañaque, in sixth place, was followed by Pasay with P5.3 billion; Davao City, P5.1 billion; Mandaluyong, P4.3 billion, and Valenzuela City with P3.8 billion.