Lawmaker, mayor want greater IRA for Bacolor

February 4, 2011

BACOLOR — Representative Aurelio Gonzales Jr. and town Mayor Jose Maria Hizon are batting for greater and fairer internal revenue allotment (IRA) for this municipality.
This came as Gonzales filed Thursday House Bill 3711, which aims to exempt Bacolor from the population formula used in determining the IRA share of the local government unit as provided by Section 285 of Republic Act (RA) 7160, or the Local Government Code of 1991.
Gonzales said he filled the bill to give Bacolor a fair share in its supposed IRA that has been adversely affected by the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991.

As provided by Section 285 of RA 7160, 50 percent of a local government unit’s IRA is determined by the local existing population.
However, both Gonzales and Hizon pointed out that most of the residents of the town reside in various host local government units were they were relocated after the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo.

Since the eruption, the 1990 actual population of the town of 67,000 residents were greatly reduced to almost 10,000 residents who still reside in the town.
Most of the town’s population resides in relocation sites in the City of San Fernando and Mabalacat, among others. Despite of this, the original population still maintains houses and lands in the town. All of them, however, still troop to Bacolor to vote, process documents and appeal for help from government officials.
“It is unfair that Bacolor officials would have little working IRA at their disposal for various government programs. The population of Bacolor contributes to the IRA of other towns but they get their services from Bacolor,” Gonzales said.

Hizon, for his part, said he has been clamoring from the formula exemption since he was the president of the Liga ng mga Barangay here.
Hizon, in fact sponsored the town resolution urging Gonzales do the necessary lobbying.
He said the current IRA of the town is based on a 25,000 population earning for it P42 million in IRA. By today’s standards, he said the IRA is still far from the comparative standing of the town before it was ravaged by lahar.

Budget Officer Danilo Sicat, for his part, said the town should at least receive some P100 million in IRA if its population was not reduced by the Mt. Pinatubo eruption.
He said the town has been left out in by Sasmuan and Sta. Rita whose populations are much smaller compared to Bacolor.
“This bill will also benefit other towns in the Philippines in similar situation like in Albay. The a fair IRA for Bacolor will not only help more of its residents in terms of services, it will also give the Municipal Government more opportunity to facilitate the full recovery of the town and entice more of its residents to return. The IRA is the lifeblood of any local government unit,” Hizon said.
Under the said bill, Gonzales is urging the use of the actual population of the town regardless of having residency in host local government units with reference to the town’s actual voting population. (Ian Ocampo Flora)

Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/local-news/lawmaker-mayor-want-greater-ira-bacolor