Mayor Sara Z. Duterte highlighted the growth of investments in the city during her State of the City Address (SOCA) on Monday at the Sangguniang Panlungsod building.

She reported a 3-year accomplishment under the “Byaheng Do30” project which she said has “capped a healthy economy”.

She said the investments have continued to grow in the past three years with a total investment portfolio of PHP230 billion in 2016, PHP272 billion in 2017 and PHP279 billion in 2018.

As a result, the growth in investments resulted in higher revenue collections and the opening of more job opportunities in the city.

“We have more local taxes collected, and the city is on its way to surpass the internal revenue allotment (IRA) as the main fund source to finance a project.

The goal is to limit our dependency on the internal revenue allotment or IRA so that we can finance more programs that are not among those restricted for IRA use,” she said.

For 2018, the city has again surpassed its revenue collections with PHP8.5 billion continuing the upward trend since 2016. In 2016, the total collection was PHP6.3 billion and in 2017, it rose to PHP7.2 billion.

“In the first half of 2019, we already saw an 11 percent increase with PHP5.5 billion compared to the PHP4.9 billion of the same period last year,” she added.

Duterte said the recorded increase in the total collection of taxes, fees, and other charges for CY 2018-2019 was due to the implementation last year of Ordinance No. 0291-17, series of 2017, otherwise known as the 2017 Revenue Code.

She also reported that the decrease in the “Fines and Penalties on Local Taxes for 2019” showed that the taxpayers complied with their obligations to the city government.

“The increasing economic activity year-on-year translates to more employment opportunities and increased the purchasing power of the Dabawenyos. Furthermore, the healthy fiscal condition of the Davao, along with the constant support of the private sector, paved the way for the funding various programs and projects,” she added.

Though she has not elaborated further details, she said the debt servicing of the city is nearing its completion which would make the city debt-free by 2022.

“These gains were not achieved by the local government alone, but by all Dabawenyos working together,” she said. (PNA)