SAGADA, Mountain Province – In compliance to the current administration’s trust of streamlining government transactions and as provided under RA 11032, otherwise known as the “Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018”, the municipal government of this tourist town has subscribed to the digital services of the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) to provide its constituents with easy, convenient and safe payment channel to pay their local taxes, fees and charges.
Municipal Mayor Felicito O. Dula and incoming LBP Bontoc Branch Manager Brent Lee W. Capsoyen led the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the use of the Landbank Link.BizPortal on November 18, 2022 at Sagada, Mountain Province.
Through this portal, clients may now pay their taxes, fees, dues, and charges to the local government at their convenience with just a few clicks on their computers or mobile devices and credit cards.
In a virtual presentation, Vice Mayor, David B. Buyagan, on behalf of the municipal government, thanked the Landbank for eventually including Sagada to subscribe to their facility and that the municipal government looks forward to maximizing the use of this e-payment facility.
On the other hand, outgoing Bontoc Branch Manager Genario Dumpayan also expressed their gratitude for trusting landbank in providing safe and secured cashless payment services.
“Landbank fully supports the digitalization initiatives of the local government units to deliver convenient public services. We look forward to helping increase payment collection rates to fund more development programs in the municipality, “he said.
According to the outgoing branch manager, Sagada is the first local government in the entire region to avail of the online payment portal of Landbank.
It is to be noted that the Sangguniang Bayan authorizes the adoption of e-payment system as one of the modes of payment of taxes, fees and charges to enhance local revenue collection, and also provides delinquent real property taxpayers, who are living outside the town and abroad, to pay their taxes and dues without personally coming to office just to pay their taxes.
Landbank Link.BizPortal is an alternative payment channel that allows clients to pay for products and services via the Internet from both the government and private institutions/sectors.
Following the signing of MOA, the landbank has also installed a new Landbank Automated Machine (ATM) at the hallway of the new Municipal Building on December 28, 2022.
The ATM will cater to government employees and private customers of both the municipalities of Sagada and Besao, including tourists. It will also cater to the beneficiaries of the National Government’s Conditional and Unconditional Cash Transfer (CCT/UCT) Programs in all the barangays of the two municipalities.
Mayor Dula said that the presence of ATM will ease the burden of his constituents especially the government and private employees in going to the capital town of Bontoc just to monetize their monthly salary. He added that the ATM will also help extends the stay of tourists in town thereby increasing the local collections of fees and charges. One of the cardholders quipped, “At last! I can withdraw cash free of charge.”
