The Parañaque City government is set to begin giving monthly cash allowance to all public elementary, high school and senior high school students in the city this school year.
Mayor Edwin Olivarez made this announcement Thursday on the heels of reports from the Office of the City Treasurer that the local government collected a whopping P5.3 billion from taxes and other fees last year.
“Parañaque residents can now expect huge program on education and infrastructure projects in the years ahead,” he said.
Olivarez said the continued program of the city government on education, public health, social services and infrastructure projects were carried out because of the financial success of the city which is attributed to the effective collection of taxes by city treasurer Dr. Anthony Pulmano.
In his report to the mayor, Pulmano disclosed that aside from the P5 billion cash on hand, they were able to reserve last year a P1.3-billion time deposit account to a government bank and another P400 million short term time deposit account to a semi-government bank.
Two years ago, Parañaque posted the highest growth in locally-generated revenue of 33.14% to P4.2 billion in Metro Manila.
From the P54 million annual interest alone in time deposit accounts, Pulmano claimed that about 108,000 additional public-school students will benefit this school year which will be receiving also P500 monthly allowance.
Previously, only junior and senior high school students studying in the city’s public schools were given P500 monthly allowance to encourage them to continue their studies but starting this school year, public elementary students will also be given monthly allowance.
Aside from financial assistance, senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs) will now receive a monthly supply of medicines, particularly for hypertension and other diseases has been scheduled under Olivarez program this year.
Pulmano said that the city government surpassed the proposed real property target collection of P1.1 billion imposed by the Department of Finance by almost double or P2.2 billion last year.
The city treasurer said the financial liquidity without any increase in taxes or loans have be achieved last year. “The increase was brought about by the taxpayers’ compliance and investors’ confidence in the city government and local leaders,” he added.
Pulmano said that in 2013, the city had only a P3.3-billion proposed budget. Six years later, it more than tripled to P10 billion.
With the increase in funds and cash liquidity, the city government under the leadership of Olivarez can now to focus on the needs of the residents through the delivery of social services and multi-million infrastructure, he explained.
Pulmano added that the effective collection is not of the treasurer, it is up to the chief executive. “No matter how good I am to collect taxes, if the city mayor is extravagant and wasteful, nothing will be left to the city coffer.”