FIFTEEN NEW BARANGAYS are now eligible to receive a share of national government revenue, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said.
“The Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) shares of Local Government Units (LGUS) for FY 2019 have been adjusted following the creation of 15 new barangays through various laws,” the DBM said in a statement on Tuesday.
Some 43,618 LGUs nationwide will share in P575.52 billion worth of IRAs this year. Each LGU’s share is determined by its population and land area, as well as the principle of “equal sharing.”
Seven of the 15 new barangays are in Navotas City, and three are in Ilocos Norte.
In 2017 three laws were enacted, to divide barangays into independent LGUs: Barangay North Bay Boulevard South (NBBS) Proper, Barangay NBBS Kaunlaran, and Barangay NBBS Dagat-Dagatan. Another law also splits another barangay in Navotas to barangay Tanza 1 and 2, and another creating barangay Tangos North, and Barangay Tangos South.
In the same year, barangay Dumalneg in Ilocos Norte was divided into barangay Cabaritan, barangay Kalaw, and barangay Quibel.
A 2018 law also created new barangays in Misamis Oriental: barangay Poblacion 2 and Poblacion 3 in the municipality of Villanueva.
Three separate laws also created new barangays in Ifugao province, Mountain Province, and Lanao del Sur: barangay Liwon in the municipality of Asipulo, barangay Pudo in the municipality of Natonin, and barangay Upper Pugaan in the municipality of Ditsaan-Ramain, respectively.
IRAs are automatically appropriated every year, and most LGUs — especially those outside Metro Manila — rely largely on these funds to finance their projects as they struggle to finance their operations through real property tax and business tax.
IRAs are equivalent to 40% of national taxes collected three years prior to the planned fiscal year, as mandated by Republic Act No, 7160, or the Local Government Code of 1991.
LGUs are required to prioritize the use of IRAs for “basic services and facilities,” particularly those devolved by the Health, Social Welfare and Development, Agriculture, and Environment departments, as well as other agencies of the national government.
They are also mandated to appropriate in their annual budgets no less than 20% of their IRAs for “development projects,”
On top of the IRAs, some LGUs also receive special shares in proceeds of national taxes mandated by various laws, such as the share in tobacco excise tax revenue for tobacco-growing regions. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
