P30B in COVID-19 grant to reach cities, towns on April 8, says budget chief

Cities and municipalities will get their share of the P30.824-billion grant from the national government for COVID-19 response on Wednesday (April 8), Budget Secretary Wendel E. Avisado said.

The guidelines on the specific amounts a city or municipality would receive, and how, will also be issued by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) before the Holy Week break, Avisado told the Inquirer on Tuesday (April 7).

According to President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s report to Congress, this Bayanihan Grant to Cities and Municipalities will be equivalent to one month of their internal revenue allotment (IRA).

For 2020, total IRA shares based on the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) actual collection of national internal revenue taxes in 2017 reached P648.9 billion across 43,618 local government units (LGUs), including provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays.

The 2020 IRA for 146 cities amounted to P149.3 billion, while 1,488 municipalities cornered a bigger P220.6 billion.

The latest list of the Department of Finance’s Bureau of Local Government Finance (DOF-BLGF) showed that 60 LGUs—eight provinces, 25 cities, and 27 municipalities—had already extended their deadlines to pay local taxes for the first quarter of 2020.

The provinces were Aurora, Bataan, Batanes, Bulacan, Isabela, La Union, Nueva Viscaya, and Zambales.

The cities included Bacolod, Bago, Balanga, Biñan, Cabanatuan, Cadiz, Davao, Dumaguete, Ilagan, Iloilo City, Koronadal, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Malolos, Meycauayan, Muntinlupa, Parañaque, Pasig, Quezon City, San Fernando (Pampanga), San Jose del Monte, Tandag, Tarlac City, and Valenzuela.

The municipalities providing relief to taxpayers were Baler in Aurora; DInalupihan, Hermosa, Limay, Mariveles, Morong, Orani, Pilar, and Samal in Bataan; Bulakan, Calumpit, Guiguinto, Norzagaray, Pandi, Paombong, Plaridel, and Santa Maria in Bulacan; Aliaga and Quezon in Nueva Ecija; Macabebe in Pampanga; La Paz, Paniqui, and Santa Ignacia in Tarlac; as well as Botolan, Cabangan, San Narciso, and Santa Cruz in Zambales.

BLGF Executive Director Niño Raymond B. Alvina told the Inquirer that provinces, cities, municipalities and even barangays have different taxing powers, hence collect taxes separately even if they were also governed by a bigger LGU.

Edited by TSB