THE 10 barangays that were transferred from Makati City to Taguig City were not included in the former’s National Tax Allotment (NTA) this year.
“This means that Taguig has to assume full responsibility for the benefits and welfare of over 300,000 residents that are now under its jurisdiction,” Makati City administrator Claro Certeza said in a statement.
As this developed, EMBO fire stations were reopened yesterday after Senator Alan Peter Cayetano lashed out on social media at their closure.
Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said he spoke to Makati Mayor Abby Binay to allow firefighters to man the stations.
The Bureau of Fire Protection said personnel from Taguig will man the facilities.
“Now, possession (of the building) is being given to the DILG,” Certeza said.
As for the NTA issue, Certeza cited the Department of Budget and Management’s (DBM) Memorandum 87-A dated December 28, 2023, which states that Makati will only be receiving its NTA for the 20 remaining villages in District 1 and Barangays Guadalupe Viejo, Guadalupe Nuevo, and Pinagkaisahan.
“It is now incumbent upon Taguig to take up the mantle of governance and welfare for these communities. This transition marks a new chapter, not only in the administrative dynamics of our cities but also in the lives of the residents of these barangays. We trust that Taguig City will uphold the highest standards of service and care that these residents rightfully deserve,” Certeza said.
The Supreme Court has ruled that the 10 EMBO (Enlisted Men’s Barrio) barangays are under the jurisdiction of Taguig, referring to Barangays Cembo, Comembo, Pembo, East Rembo, West Rembo, South Cembo, Pitogo, Post Proper Northside, Post Proper Southside, and Rizal.
Under the DBM memo, Makati will be receiving P1,006,144,469 for the fiscal year 2024. Before the removal of the EMBO barangays, Makati City was supposed to receive an NTA allocation of P1,775,342,277.
Certeza noted, however, that the P770-million reduction in the NTA share of Makati will have a negligible impact on the programs and services of the city government.
“Makati does not rely on the NTA because of our consistent tax collection performance. Locally sourced revenues are more than enough to fund our 2024 budget, not to mention the savings gained from the subsidies previously given to the EMBO barangays,” he said.
Based on an initial report from the city Finance Department, total revenue collection as of December 2023 has reached P24.8 billion. The bulk of the year’s income came from local sources led by Business Tax with P12,488,452,736 followed by Realty Tax with P8,688,442,661.
For 2024, the Sangguniang Panlungsod has approved a total city budget of P19.7 billion. The Social Development Sector got the lion’s share with P4.1 billion allocated for the Health Sub-Sector, P3.2 billion for the Education Sub-Sector, and P1.8 billion for the Social Welfare Sub-Sector.
In 2023, Makati allocated P1.4 billion to primary health care management and another P1.6 billion to fund the patient care program of Ospital ng Makati. It also allotted around P2.0 billion for education-related programs and about P1.0 billion for social welfare initiatives.
The NTA is distributed among local government units – provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays – using a specific formula. It takes into account population (50 percent), land area (25 percent), and equal sharing (25percent).
The NTA is a system for distributing national tax revenues to local government units, replacing the previous Internal Revenue Allotment.