THE PROVINCIAL government of Iloilo headed by Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. gave out awards on April 12, 2018 to top real property and business taxpayers in the province.
The awardees given recognition as the top 10 real property taxpayers were the following:
1) Universal Robina Corp., San Enrique – P4,737,079
2) San Miguel Corporation, Leganes – P4,081,502.00
3) Communities Iloilo, Inc., Oton – P3,290,992
4) Coca-Cola Bottlers Fensa Phils., Pavia – P2,618,218
5) Palm Concepcion Power Corp., Concepcion – P1,925,066
6) Pepsi Cola Product Phils., San Miguel – P1,287,451
7) Jessyl Jane Olivares – P1,657,707
8) Vitarich Corp., Pavia – P1,570,529
9) Anhawan Development, Inc., Oton – P1,554,340
10) Robinsons Land Corp. – P1,414,344
You will note that three firms ranking first, fifth and seventh are in the outlying areas of the province while seven are all based in towns just in the perimeter of Iloilo City.
In the case of business taxes, the top provincial taxpayers are the following:
1) Coca-Cola Bottlers Femsa, Pavia – P10,708,050
2) Pepsi Cola, San Miguel – P5,241,355
3) San Miguel Foods, Pavia – P4,180,686
4) Communities Iloilo, Inc., Pavia – P3,793,191
5) Panay Agri-Ventures Development, Pavia – P3,652,194
6) SPC Island Power Corp., Dingle – P 3,279,164
7) Property Company of Friends, Inc., Pavia – P3,232,208
8) 8990 Housing Development Corp., Pavia – P2,757,077
9) First Pacific Fortune (Gaisano Capital), Oton – P2,094,099
10) Palm Power Corp., Concepcion – P1,785,936
Only two firms, namely, SPC Island Power Corp. in Dingle, Iloilo and Palm Power Corp. in Concepcion, Iloilo are far from the city limits.
Total collection of Iloilo from the top 10 real estate taxpayers was P24.83 million while the top 10 in the list of business taxpayers paid P40.72 million.
With the progress and rate of growth we are witnessing today both in the city and the surrounding suburban towns of Iloilo, we remember an attempt a few years ago to establish a metropolitan or Metro Iloilo area which has not yet been realized.
The idea of a Metro Iloilo is to give Iloilo City the chief city function and then adopt a uniform and compliant governance policy for the principal municipalities at its perimeter, namely, Pavia, Leganes, Santa Barbara, San Miguel, and Oton. This will enable the city and province to adopt compatible development programs in the same direction.
The provincial governor and city mayor will organize jointly a Metropolitan or Metro Iloilo Council (MIC) chaired and co-chaired by the two officials, and with all the mayors of the five municipalities in the designated metro area as members, as well as a representative from each of the city’s seven districts, i.e., Iloilo City proper, Molo, Arevalo, Mandurriao, Jaro, La Paz and Lapuz.
The Metro Iloilo Council will therefore become a Governing Board of 15 members composed by the provincial governor and the city mayor as co-chairmen, then six members from the province representing the municipalities in Metro Iloilo, and seven members from the city representing each of the city districts at the Iloilo City proper mentioned above.
The Metropolitan Iloilo Council (MIC) can then adopt uniform policies for the city and municipal members of Metro Iloilo, covering investment and development, zoning and traffic policies, or such other areas of public service that will attract new locators or encourage investors in suburban Iloilo.
This is an implementation of a metropolitan concept of development which we believe will hasten faster economic growth in both Iloilo City and the surrounding suburban municipalities of the province.
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Historical Quote of the Week:
“The first provincial high school in the Philippines is the Iloilo High School in La Paz, Iloilo City.” (For comments or re-actions, please e-mail to jnoveracompany@yahoo.com)/PN
