Cotabato Province Governor Emmylou “Lala” J. Taliño–Mendoza announced that the province is debt–free.
Being debt-free means that the provincial government can improve more services and projects for the Cotabateños.
“Ang pamahalaang panlalawigan ay isang debt-free o walang utang. Ibig sabihin more improve services and projects for the Province of Cotabato,” Mendoza said during her recent State of the Province Address (SOPA).
Mendoza said the province has been efficient in tax collection which has led to the construction of infrastructures, the strengthening of programs, and an increase in the savings of the provincial coffers.
She said the province exceeded its target revenues for the year 2023. Its actual collection for tax revenue from local sources reached P80 million, which exceeded the P69.8 million target.
Mendoza also stated that the P71.8 million actual collection for the Special Education Fund exceeded the P61 million goal revenue. In comparison to the P3.9 billion projected revenue, the education fund’s overall general fund received P4.2 billion.
She said the provincial government has set aside an allocation for the following expenditures: P1.3 billion for general public services, P787.4 million for nutrition services, P809.6 million for social services, and P2.2 billion for fiscal services.
These allocations come from the P5.1 billion annual budget and four supplementary budgets.
She added that the province has a P751 million surplus from both the general and special education funds.
Additionally, Mendoza stated that the provincial government had P14 billion in total equity, P799.3 million in total liabilities, and P14.8 billion in assets recorded.
Mendoza reported that the Province of Cotabato has accumulated idle cash above the standard operator requirement of P2.3 billion, which was placed for a short period and yielded income at a rate of four to five percent annually.
Mendoza attributed the accomplishments to the individuals behind the initiatives and activities carried out by their “Serbisyong Totoo.”
“Dahil sa maaayos na paggamit ng ating mga pondo na naayon sa kaukulang batas at polisiya ng gobyerno na ipatupad ang mga serbisyo, program, proyekto, na higit na makakabuti ng kalagayan ng mamayan at estado,” she said.
Mendoza said that with strong political will, transparency, and accountability with the help of the members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, members of the Provincial Advisory Council, and technical working groups, the province of Cotabato is almost close to achieving its development goals.
