NAGA CITY — The regional office of the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) in Legazpi City commended the Naga City Treasurer’s Office and the Naga City Assessor’s Office for their exemplary performance in revenue generation and collection.
City Mayor John G. Bongat, on the other hand, was lauded for being the key person in the city’s aggressive tax campaign that resulted to improved delivery of basic services.
Last year, the city mayor was also cited by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for his leading role in supporting the agency’s tax collection drive within his area of jurisdiction.
BLGF OIC-Regional Director Florencio Dino III this week handed the mayor a certificate of recognition “for registering the largest contribution to the total local revenue collection of all cities in the Bicol Region” for 2014. The city was able to collect in business and real property taxes the total amount of P555.76M which represents 43.98%, or nearly half of the total P1.26B collection of Bicol cities. This means that the remainder of 56.02% were shared by total collection of the 6 other cities.
It was noted that Naga City’s collection was even higher than Albay’s collection of P490.78M for the same period. Albay is region’s top performing revenue collector among the provinces. The amount represents 25.92% of the P1.89B accumulated collections of the 6 Bicol provinces.
Meanwhile, the BLGF also cited City Treasurer Gregoria Nilda B. Abonal “for her continuing efforts on local revenue generation, thereby enabling the city of Naga to register such a feat.”
In an interview, Abonal thanked the city’s taxpayers for paying their taxes promptly and correctly. She added that she is not resting on her laurels as her office will be pushing for more serious information dissemination on tax collection campaign by November, this year, in close coordination with the City Events, Protocol and Public Information Office (CEP- PIO).
Her office was also commended for being rated ‘very good’ in the LGU Fiscal Sustainability Scorecard. The office’s performance on this field was evaluated by the Department of Finance (DOF).
The scoreboard is a summation of scores from the Key Result Areas of Revenue Generation Capacity, Local Revenue Growth and Expenditure Management, largely based on the timely and accurate submission of the electronic Statement of Receipts and Expenditures (eSRE) being monitored, reviewed and approved by the BLGF.
City Assessor Ramon R. Albeus was also given the same recognition for sharing his efforts on local revenue generation. The awards were given last May 7, 2015 during the 2nd Quarter Regional Conference of Bicol Treasurers and Assessors in Legazpi City.
Naga’s tax performance lauded
Solar powered homes to rise in Iriga, Legazpi
Some 4,000 units of solar-powered homes will be built in two cities in the Bicol region, the chairman of a housing company recently announced.
Imperial Homes Corporation chair Emma Imperial said that 3,000 of these houses will rise in Iriga, and another 1,000 in Legazpi City. She made the announcement during the launch of its first 24-hour solar powered homes in Sto. Tomas, Batangas last week.
The project is part of the Enfinity Imperial Solar Homes Inc., a partnership of the company and the Enfinity Philippines, a company involved in solarpowered mass housing in the country. The partnership is offering a house-and-lot package that include a 1,000-watt solution that would produce four kwh of electricity per day.
This solar solution can power a refrigerator, two electric fans, television, two chargers or laptops, three LED lights, washing machine and rice cooker.
“For an off-grid system of 1,000 watts solution with battery, the buyer can have an avoided cost of electricity in the amount of P1,560 per month and save an estimate of P500 per month even with their 30-year amortization,” Enfinity said in a statement.
The installation of the system would range from P150,000 to P165,000, which would be included in the homeowner’s amortization. - fpj
Possible Camarines Norte Minahang Bayan areas inspected
LEGAZPI CITY — The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) in Bicol has recently inspected and validated two prospective areas located in the towns of Jose Panganiban and Paracale, Camarines Norte for the establishment of a Minahang Bayan following the petitions of the Gov. Edgardo A. Tallado and Councilor Sarah Mae Aviado of Jose Panganiban.
MGB Bicol officer in charge Guillermo Molina Jr IV said several landowners also requested inclusion of their lands among areas for Minahang Bayan including that of Benedicto Padua-92.82 hectares and Charito Elcano-16 has. located at Barangay Luklukan Sur, Jose Panganiban; Heirs of Carmen Vda. Maligat and Crispino Vasquez-13.55 has. and Crispino Vasquez-4.41 has., Bgy. Sta. Rosa Sur, Jose Panganiban; Vicente Inocalla-22.80 has., Allan Inocalla-22.81 has. and Gina Ropan-20.13 has, San Rafael, Jose Panganiban; and Samahang Minahang Bayan ng Casalugan, Paracale, Camarines Norte Inc.-19.91 has. and Reynor Regalario 20 has., Sitio Maning, Bgy. Casalugan, Paracale, all in Camarines Norte.
Molina added that result of the validations showed that the proposed area in Barangay Luklukan falls within mining tenements of at least three mining firms and consent of owners has yet to be secured. The area, however is mineralized and can be recommended for a Minahang bayan site; consent of owners has to be secured for those areas in Santa Rosa Sur, so with those areas in San Rafael; and in Casalugan.
MGB Bicol has been actively pushing since last year for the establishment of a Minahang Bayan in Camarines Norte and other provinces in Bicol that will benefit several hundreds of small-scale miners which were for long operating illegally.
Small-scale mining is now governed by the provisions of Republic Act (RA) 7076 otherwise known as the Peoples Small-Scale Mining Act of 1991 as implemented by the Department Administrative Order (DAO) 2015-03, the Revised Rules and Regulations of RA 7076. DAO 2015-03 took effect last April 2, 2015.
RA 7076 is the only operative law for small-scale mining which repealed PD 1899 and is an effort of the Government to generate more employment opportunities and provide subsistence to small-scale miners. - PIA5
NFA steps up palay procurement
PILI, CAMARINES SUR — Palay procurement of the cereal agency in this province has reached its peak at an average intake of 5,000 – 6,000 bags daily. Palay traders subside its buying price to P 16.80 – 17.00 per kilo compared to last month of P 17.50 to 18.20. The trend is normal when the height of harvest is already in full swing in the area with the principle of supply and demand.
As of this writing, NFA Camarines Sur has 4 operational buying stations mainly located in Ocampo, Iriga City, Libmanan, and the two (2) terminal warehouses in Palestina, Pili. If the volume in procure ment continuously increase above its target, the agency will have to lease additional warehouses to accommodate excess volume of the present four (4) warehouses.
NFA Camarines Sur has a set-up target for this summer harvest of 125,500 cavans. 58,089 cavans were already procured or 46.28% accomplishment as of this news.
Farmers are encouraged to sell their harvest dried to have a better price at P 17.00 per kilo plus P 0.40 for individual farmers and another additional P 0.30 (CDIF) for farmers association.
On the hand, NFA Camarines Sur has a buffer stock of 170,000 cavans (imported rice) in preparation to the rice
distribution these coming months for June to December, considered off-season in palay harvest.
The aforementioned harvest will be augmented by the additional rice transfer from Albay of 200,000 bags of imported rice. If necessary, local palay procured this season will be programmed for milling. – NFA Camarines Sur Public Affairs
International cruise terminal to rise in Legazpi
By Danny Calleja
LEGAZPI CITY — Mayor Noel Rosal announced that an international passenger cruise terminal project will soon rise here as another addition to the growing number of world-class travel industry facilities in this prime Bicol tourism city.
It will be realized through a proposed Php400-million funding the city government is arranging for allocation with the national government through the Tourism Industry and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), he said. “I formally presented the proposal, study and design of this project to the Department of Tourism (DOT) and Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr., in a meeting last week, approved it for endorsement to the TIEZA,” Rosal said.
TIEZA, which is formerly called the Philippine Tourism Authority, is an attached agency to the DOT mandated to develop, manage and supervise tourism infrastructure projects in the country. By the middle of this month, the city mayor said he would make an audience with the TIEZA board of directors to iron out the funding and its implementation. This passenger cruise terminal project will be located along the Legazpi Boulevard, less than a kilometer from the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA)-managed city harbor and within the site of the new urban center, an extension of the city’s fast-congesting commercial district.This multibillion-peso project was started by the city government with the opening of the Legazpi Boulevard, a five-kilometer four-lane seaside concrete road that is now being extended towards the Southern Luzon International Airport (SLIA).
The SLIA, now ongoing construction within a 200-hectare plateau in Barangay Alobo, Daraga, Albay — 10-kilometers from the city proper, is expected to start operations in 2017 to become a testament to economic growth propelled by the fast-growing trade and tourism industry in Bicol. The new urban center will locate world-class tourism and commercial facilities within an impressive water-front economic landscape with a sweeping 360-degree view of Albay Gulf, opposite the heartwarming scenery of the majestic Mayon Volcano sitting at the northern side of the city, Rosal said.
“We are developing this new urban center through the help of the national government and private investors from here and abroad under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme,” he said. Designed as a massive addition to the country’s vibrant waterfront facilities, this proposed cruise terminal commands a prominent location with the picturesque Albay Gulf as its base and the majestic Mt. Mayon as its backdrop. Its design includes an interior with a clear and functional layout to ensure smooth and seamless passenger service while the exterior adopts a nautical theme with the motif of waves breaking into shore. It will have a berth served by a terminal building and will be able to accommodate even the largest ship currently in service, according to Rosal. “We expect several ocean liners to drop anchor here, bringing with them thousands of tourist from all over the world when it is completed,” he said.
Well-served by a network of roads and links to other tourist destinations along the Albay Gulf, this proposed terminal can look forward to easy access and seamless connection to other parts of Bicol including the Donsol, Sorsogon — World’s Whale Shark Capital, the island-province of Catanduanes that is known for its exciting surf sites and Masbate, Asia’s Rodeo Capital. It will be a 30-minute drive to the SLIA and only minutes away from the Legazpi Central Terminal, the futuristic land transportation hub catering to dozens of bus trips daily to and from Metro Manila and the Visayas and Mindanao islands. The station of the Philippine National Railways, whose trains are heralded to resume plying the Legazpi-Manila route soon this year, is only about a kilometer away from the cruise terminal. “Certainly, the planned superior cruise terminal facilities will complement the country’s prime location between major domestic and international maritime routes and excellent air connectivity to establish the city as the cruise hub of Central Philippines,” Rosal said.
It will also greatly help in the realization of the prospect of Philippine center of community-based tourism as envisioned by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) for the city. Rosal will be in Madrid, Spain, from June 8-12 on invitation by UNTWO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai for him to meet and exchange views on tourism development and promotion with the international organization’s secretariat at its headquarters. The mayor will also travel to Santiago de Compostela in order to meet with relevant organizations involved in the preservation of historical monuments, the development of community-based tourism, and to undertake a local entrepreneurship program through national and local government support. He will be accompanied by DOT Regional Director for Bicol Maria Ong-Ravanilla, Undersecretary Maria Victoria Jasmin and Joy Bulauitan of the TIEZA. “Based on what I learnt from my visit to Legazpi last year, I consider that the city is endowed with the qualities to become the center for community-based tourism in the Philippines,” Rafai said in his invitation letter to Rosal.