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Thursday, September 01, 2005
Province to get P191M but National Govt. has no funds
The Cebu Provincial Government could receive as much as P191 million as part of the P45-billion Internal Revenue Allotment that had been withheld by the National Government since 1991.
Batangas Rep. Hermilando Mandanas, a former governor, announced Tuesday that the Supreme Court has ruled for the release of the IRA to the different provinces.
Since 1991, the accumulated unreleased IRA totaled P44.9 billion.
League of Provinces in the Philippines head and Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado explained previous presidents withheld part of the IRA because the National Government needed the money.
He said that at least P17.5 billion is set to be released in the next two weeks.
But the governors asked that it be raised to P30 billion because they also need funds for their projects.
Of the P17.5 billion, the Cebu Provincial Government will receive P11.7 million.
But if the National Government will grant their request, P191 million will go to Cebu Province.
The funds, though, will be released through “monetization process” because the National Government is short on cash.
Aumentado explained that the different provinces will just enter into a loan agreement with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and the National Government will pay for the loan.
The governors last Tuesday also passed a resolution asking the National Government to also pay for the interest.
“Because in the first place, the National Government should have released the money outright,” Mandanas said.
Aumentado said the IRA will be used for projects under the President’s 10-point agenda, such as water, electrification, health, job generation and infrastructure. (MBG)
(September 1, 2005 issue)
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