The City Treasury Office urged residents to pay the corresponding fees for their clearances and permits in their respective barangays as part of the ongoing efforts of the local government to empower the smallest political subdivision to be active collecting agents and help in reducing the long lines of people in the different offices just to be able to secure their vital documents.
City Treasurer Ales Cabarrubias stated that people can pay their police clearance, Professional Tax Receipt (PTR) and working permit fees in their respective barangays before claiming the same in the various offices of the local government to ensure the speedy conduct of transactions that will avoid the occurrence of long lines in such offices.
Aside from the aforesaid fees, he claimed that residents can also pay their garbage fees and secure their respective community tax certificates (CTCs) or cedula in the different barangays to ensure the convenience in their transactions with the different offices of the local government.
Cabarrubias appealed to the people to be honest in declaring their gross income so that the barangay treasurers will be able to accurately compute their payment for their cedula that is readily available in the barangays.
He admitted that in the past, there were even professionals who declared minimal income just for them to be able to pay the minimal fee for their cedula.
According to him, the local government trained the barangay treasurers to determine the gross income of the individuals securing their cedula from them to avoid similar incidents of under declaration of income just to be able to escape paying the right amount for their cedula for the city to be able to generate the projected income from the payment of the cedula being provided to the people.
The city treasurer stipulated that empowering the barangays to collect the fees for police clearance, PTR and working permit and garbage fee and cedula is part of the ongoing efforts of the local government to allow the transactions to be done in the barangays for residents not to crowd in the various offices that might cause violation of the minimum public health standards.
Cabarrubias also urged the residents to voluntarily pay their garbage fees in their respective barangays so that they will be able to contribute in the ongoing efforts to increase the city’s collection of garbage fees to be able to sustain the local government’s garbage collection and disposal program.
He stipulated that the taxes being paid by individual and corporate taxpayers is the lifeblood of the local government that is why residents are being empowered to pay their real property and business taxes the soonest so that the city will be able to raise the projected amount that will support the implementation of its programs, projects and activities geared towards the general welfare of the greater majority of the populace.
Apart from its internal revenue allotment from the national government, the city also relies on the local taxes, fees and charges that are being levied on the various services being provided by the local government to support its annual budget. By Dexter A. See
