THE DAVAO Oriental provincial government collected over P255 million in revenues as of Oct. this year, 26% higher than the P203 million full-year income in 2017, based on a report from the Provincial Treasurer’s Office. In a statement, the provincial government said the treasurer’s office is also anticipating a boost in collection in the last two months of the year given the economic activities and the arrivals of tourists during the Christmas and New Year holidays. The province’s four local revenue sources are real property tax, business tax, fees and charges, and economic enterprises. Acting Provincial Treasurer Ma. Victoria Rodriguez, who assumed office in January 2018, said the higher collection could be attributed to new strategies implemented this year such as building a strong network with component local government units through the Davao Oriental Local Treasury Association (DOLTRA), organizational development for treasury personnel, capacitating field collection officers, and the deployment of “Tax Boosters” in all towns to facilitate the collection of real property tax and intensify local tax information campaign. In the coming year, the treasury office is planning to streamline treasury and assessment operations through improved electronic transactions. “The province is looking into the possibility of installing uniform real property tax administration systems in the provincial and municipal treasury and assessment offices, as this would not only optimize office performance and promote efficiency in government service delivery but would also enable interoperability between LGUs (local government units), which has been one of the main bottlenecks in treasury and assessment operations,” Ms. Rodriguez said. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

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