Davao City residents assured city has enough money

DAVAO CITY, Philippines—Davao City’s treasurer said Thursday the city has more than enough money to run its operations.

Rodrigo Riola issued the assurance amid fears that the city was unable to support its current annual budget of P5.1 billion.

“We have plenty of money.  We have P2.2 billion cash in the banks,” Riola told reporters here in an apparent bid to put those fears to rest.

He said the cash deposit “is clean,” which means that all past payables, including Christmas bonuses due to employees, had already been deducted from it.

Riola  described the city’s financial condition as very “solid.”

The Sangguniang Panlungsod increased the annual budget from last year’s P4 billion to P5.1 billion this year in light of the projects that need immediate implementation, such as flood-control systems.

Riola assured the public that the budget was a sustainable one because it was based on past collections and the city’s Internal Revenue Allotment of P2.9 billion.

The money in the bank might not have to be touched at all, he said.

Riola  noted that similar fears were raised when the city council passed the P4.4 budget in 2013.

Among the measures the city government has adopted is a more vigorous and determined collection of local taxes from local businesses.