BINMALEY, Pangasinan, July 15 (PNA) — The mayor of this town, Simplicio “Sammy” Rosario, underscored the savings the municipal government has incurred for the past year under his administration, in his about 40-minute-long state of the municipality address (SOMA) on Monday.
“The very first financial policy upon my assumption on June 13, 2014 was to curb unnecessary expenses,” Rosario remarked as he enumerated the different expenses of the local government unit (LGU) for 2013-2014 side by side with those of the year 2012-2013.
Rosario began by comparing the maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) from P34,173,197.37 in July 2012- June 2013 to P24,321,873.6 for the same comparative period last year.
Such led to a savings amounting to close to P10 million, he said.
He remarked, “Wise spending means more and better services for more people.”
Rosario then went on to say that gas, oil, and lubricants expenses have been reduced to P609,799.95 under his watch, from last administration’s P3,123,375.88 covering July 2012-June 2013.
He vowed that officials of the Binmaley LGU will not get even a liter of gasoline from the government for their private vehicles.
“Under my watch, our expenditure for motor vehicle maintenance reached only P286,234,” he added.
Further, maintenance and upkeeping of infrastructure and other facilities in 2012-2013 which was P9,336,315 was dragged down to P6,201,033.40 in 2013-2014.
Meanwhile, the local chief executive cited that collection of business tax and regulatory fees was reinforced, resulting in an increase of about P1,703,705 or from P5,105,841.40 to P6,809,546.91 tax collection.
He added that the LGU is already close to its target income of P5,485,000 from permit fees for this year in just the first six months, as P5,033,532.56 has already been collected.
Rosario noted how his first year has been very challenging for the drastic reforms he began implementing.
Further, he tackled on his plans such as on beefing up local economy with the construction of new public market, construction of 300-400 houses for informal settlers in a two-hectare lot in Brgy. Tumbor, provision of irrigation system in all agricultural villages, and intensification of anti-drug campaign.
He added that the municipality will soon boost its tourism with the previous planting of cherry blossom under the project, “Bloom Binmaley.”
Other proposed projects included the putting up of evacuation centers and barangay halls in at least 10 barangays, construction of Binmaley Canteen to be managed by cooperative, and establishment of the Binmaley Training Center, among others.
The mayor concluded that he will continue giving “Serbisyo Agad Maaasahan” or immediate services in the next two years of his leadership.
After the SOMA, Rosario led the awarding of computer and air conditioner units to schools in the town. (PNA)