Iloilo is 8th Richest Province: The Province of Iloilo has been included in the Top 10 wealthiest provinces in the country, in the 2018 annual report of the Commission on Audit – 8th to be exact with assets totaling Php 11.442 billion. The province moved up from the ninth place in 2017 when assets amounted to Php 10 billion.
“Our assets increased because of our collection of taxes, revenues of our economic local enterprise,” states Jean Umadhay, Iloilo Provincial Treasurer stated in an article by the Philippine News Agency.
Umadhay was thankful for the report as it highlights the province’s improvement in terms of tax collection. Moreover, Umadhay also mentioned that she had an auction sale for properties that failed to pay taxes. Auction sales were instrumental in generating income for the province.
“The province conducted an auction of acquired properties twice in 2018. If it had no buyer, the property was considered as sold to the province. We have generated income because of that,” Umadhay states.
Umadhay also mentions the grants the province received from the national government – the Philippine Rural Development Project, and the Conditional Matching Grant to Provinces for Road Repair, Rehabilitation, and Improvement. The grants was pivotal in the uprise of infrastructure projects in Iloilo, adding to the province’s assets.
Among those included in the top richest provinces are the following: Cebu with Php 35.659 billion in assets, Compostela Valley with Php 19.615 billion; Batangas, Php 18.186 billion; Rizal, Php 18.076 billion; Bukidnon, Php15.278 billion; Negros Occidental, Php 14.446 billion; and Laguna, Php 11.587 billion. Following Iloilo are Palawan with Php 11.277 billion, and Zambales with Php 11.241 billion. Read more: Iloilo among country’s 10 richest provinces
