• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The municipality of E.B. Magalona in Negros Occidental will soon become a first class municipality.
Municipal Budget Officer Debbie Ann Dioneo Monte said that E.B. Magalona is now qualified as it has already reached an annual budget of P200 million in the past three years.
“We are still waiting for a certification from the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) stating that E.B. Magalona is now a first class municipality,” Monte said in press briefing on Monday (July 29).
Republic Act No. 11964, otherwise known as the “Automatic Income Classification of Local Government Units Act”, which was signed into law by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Oct. 26, 2023, classifies provinces, cities, and municipalities into five classes.
The classification is according to their income ranges, based on the average annual regular income for three fiscal years preceding a general income reclassification.
Mayor Marvin Malacon said that being a first-class municipality would mean an increase in their national tax allotment (NTA) by P40 million to P50 million for more basic services for Saraviahanons as well as an increase in salaries and number of plantilla positions, among others.
With an 18 percent increase in NTA, E.B. Magalona has a projected P300 million budget for next year, including its local sources of revenues, Monte said.
The three terms or nine-year service of Malacon as the local chief of executive of E.B. Magalona expires in June 30 next year.
On his plans for the May 2025 elections, Malacon said that he has yet to decide even as the filing of certificate of candidacy is set in October this year.
He confirmed though that the Team Asenso in the Third District has endorsed his son, Matthew Louis, to run for mayor of E.B. Magalona. | GB
