THE week has opened with the big news about the affluence of Cebu Province and Cebu City: the province as No. 1 and the city as No. 6 in terms of net worth in assets.
The province’s total assets, according to the Commission on Audit (COA): P34.13 billion with net worth of P31.199 billion. Cebu City’s numbers: P33.86 billion total assets and P9.14 billion net worth.
Questions on wealth
As in past years when COA statistics about riches of the two local governments spawn questions, this time there are even more being asked. Mostly by persons who can’t figure out why with all the money the LGUs are supposed to have, their lives are seemingly not improved by Capitol and City Hall.
[] “If we’re so rich, how come services are still deficient?”
[] “We cannot be that rich as we owe a huge amount of money.”
Basic about assets
With the hype given to the COA report that lists the province and Cebu City among the rich LGUs, there may be need during the campaign to explain to grassroots voters why they get so little from the wealth we’re supposed to wallow in.
Most people know enough the basics, such as:
[] The assets are not all in cash; they’re mostly real estate, idle and not earning income.
[] The cash comes from taxes collected, including the LGU’s internal revenue share from the national government. The cash pays for the upkeep of the government, salaries of personnel and other bills, for maintenance of roads, bridges and other infrastructures, as well as projects and goods and supplies -- and, yes, the usual debts. In Cebu City’s case, the liabilities total P24.7 billion, which made Councilor Joel Garganera ask, “We cannot be rich; it’s a misnomer.” The stock answer for that is, “You are rich; you just have a cash problem.”
Fiscal management
The big puzzler is how with so much asset in its control, an LGU could still be deficient even on the essential services.
First, there’s the matter of fiscal management: efficient tax collection and, aside from the mandatory expenses, prudent choice of projects on which to expand the extra money.
Second, how to earn revenue from idle assets, when to dispose of them when necessary, without dissipating resources that may be useful in the future. Then governor Gwen Garcia tried it but was frustrated by circumstances.
Hoarding
Here’s the thing: The governor or the mayor is usually torn between providing better service to the public, which will improve people’s lives, and showing that he is a prudent custodian or a shrewd entrepreneur. One governor, leaving his office, boasted he had left more cash than any past governor. Governors or city mayors, ex and incumbent, usually tangle over who made the province richer.
The LGU, unlike a private corporation, does not exist and is not run to pile up money. Primary mission is service to the people, in immediate and long-term projects that serve present and future needs.
How money is spent
It is not a matter of the Cebu Province and Cebu City being on the top rung of the ladder of wealthy LGUs. It is whether the people they serve can see that the money is being spent for them and their community, not for the list which COA tallies each year and gives the public officials bragging rights.
It also helps if no huge amount of public money is wasted on useless, unproductive projects or lost to corruption. Being rich would not be any comfort to defrauded constituents.