Mayor Francisco “Isko” Domagoso predicted that the city of Manila will overtake Makati as the richest city in the National Capital Region by 2022.
Domagoso, during a business forum at the Manila Polo Club, said the city is expecting a P90-billion windfall from the Bureau of Customs following a Supreme Court ruling that widened the base of local government units’ shares in the country’s taxes.
“In the next three years, Manila will become the richest city in the country… That is not a dream—I am just stating facts based on the decision of the Supreme Court,” he said.
The High Court last year ruled that the “just share” of LGUs must be computed based on all national taxes, not just those from national internal revenue taxes.
“The city of Manila has two of the biggest ports in the country, the Port of Manila and the Manila International Container Port. Manila will get rich,” Domagoso said.
The mayor said the city’s higher share from Customs duties will be used to finance health care, housing, education and traffic programs.
Makati City is at present the richest city in the National Capital Region, followed by Quezon City. The city of Manila is at the third spot.
Domagoso invited businessmen to invest more in Manila, citing the local government’s inroad to lower taxes, reduce crime rate, and achieve ease of doing business.