The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) XII is calling for more resilient and self-sufficient LGUs, especially in times of crisis, by strengthening their revenue generation plans.
DILG XII Regional Director Josephine Cabrido-Leysa,CESO III said, LGUs have been greatly dependent to Internal Revenue Allotments (IRA) from the National Government, and this dependency “will not sustain the citizen’s needs in times of uncertainty” like this time of COVID-19 pandemic.
Currently, the world is battling an “epidemic” that has begun to cripple not just the government sector but also the private sector… As a result, it has put a limit to the government’s revenue and tax collection efforts. LGUs must increase their effort to find a stronger and more reliable stream of revenue”, Director Leysa said.
Due to COVID-19, the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) projects a 30% reduction in its collection this year from the original revenue target of Php 307.08 billion set by the Department of Finance (DOF), BLGF’s attached agency, to all LGU treasurers in the country.
Through its Project Development Management Unit (PDMU), the Department facilitated a two-day virtual training on Revenue Generation Plan formulation last August 25 to 26, in partnership with BLGF XII.
BLGF XII Regional Director Jeany T. Tedera served as the Resource Person for the said virtual training, which was participated by provincial engineers, budget officers, treasurers, accountants, economic enterprise officers, and planning and development officers from the four provinces in the region.
“Increasing the revenue generation is one way of building self–sufficiency in the local government, as it is considered as the lifeblood of the government,” Regional Director Leysa said as she welcomed the participants to the virtual meeting.
During the virtual training, Regional Director Tedera advised the LGUs to consider various strategies and measures to improve their revenue generation, which include intensifying and modernizing their Business Tax Mapping, deputizing municipal treasurers to collect amusement taxes, and implementing a single real property tax information in the provinces.
He further encouraged LGUs to rationalize the imposition of fees and charges, improve the information education campaign on revenue and taxes, provide additional human resource as tax mappers and deputize barangay officials to conduct inspections, conduct regular Tax Mapping to update real property uses and new improvements, and regulate the use of dump trucks and other heavy equipment to generate revenues, among others.
Director Leysa expects the provincial LGUs to create a suitable revenue generation plan for the next five years and apply the strategies for revenue generation.
