Fiscal management is the backbone of effective governance. It ensures that public funds are allocated efficiently, transparently, and responsibly, to meet the needs of our constituents.
In Cebu City, as in other Local Government Units, fiscal management plays a crucial role in funding essential social services such as livelihood support, infrastructure development, healthcare, education, and environmental conservation.
This is why our administration, which resolved earlier on to not increase our taxes, was very conservative in our budgeting, thorough in our collection, and, despite insinuation to the contrary, very circumspect in our spending.
The recent acknowledgement of the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) 7 that Cebu City is number 1 among all Local Government Units in Central Visayas in local revenue generation and number three in year-on-year growth is a validation of our sound financial stewardship.
And, on a personal note, the BLGF’s conferring unto me the Maharlika Award for Outstanding Public Servant, in recognition of our exceptional service and unwavering commitment in the field of leadership, management and local finance, is a vindication against adverse insinuations and comments.
According to the BLGF, Cebu City, in 2024, collected a total of P5,986,955,338.90 in locally-sourced revenues.
This, in turn, represented a 25.84 percent year-on-year growth for Cebu City.
For those who might not be so familiar, the BLGF is a unit under the Department of Finance.
It is tasked with assisting in the formulation and execution of policies on local taxation, real property valuation/assessments, and the conduct of the financial affairs of the local governments, and Local Government Units are bound to follow their policies.
We understand that without sound financial stewardship, even the most ambitious development plans can falter, leaving communities underserved and progress stagnant.
We also recognize that good governance and fiscal responsibility are intertwined.
And for us to be recognized for exceptional service and unwavering commitment in the field of leadership, management and local finance is to be recognized for advancing good governance and showing fiscal responsibility.
I trust that the incoming administration will continue the gains we have started for sound fiscal management. We have paved the way for them to continue and improve.
Lastly, I share this award with the employees of the Cebu City Government, especially the City Treasurer’s Office and the City Assessor’s Office for the hardwork and unwavering commitment.
Daghang salamat ug maayong buntag.
Matud pa sa mga pagtuon nga gihimo sa Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) niadtong 2015 ug 2018, ang mga farmers, fisherfolks, ug kadtong mga tua nanimuyo sa mga rural areas have higher poverty incidences compared to those from other “basic” sectors.
Tuod dili ma-consider ang Cebu City as a rural area but, ang labing tinuod niana, ang uban natong mga kaigsuonan ng atua nagpuyo sa ubang mga upland barangays live in very rural conditions.
Dunay uban nga, in the parlance of Republic Act 8425, “cannot afford in a sustained manner to provide their minimum basic needs of food, health, education, housing and other essential amenities of life.”
And even if they could, ang ilang gilay-on dinhi sa ciudad can sometimes make accessing these basic and essential needs difficult.
Perspective. Cebu City is larger than the sum of the urban centers that define it.
Makita nako ni every time I visit the upland barangays of the northern district. I’ve made it a guiding purpose to mobilize the city’s resources towards improving their access not only to basic services but also to mobility.
Sagad sa atong mga bukiran nga barangay naa mahimutang 1,200-1,300 feet above seawater.
Ang akong mga paninguha karon naglangkob sa pag secure og usa ka ambulansya, pag himo og tulo ka mga drainage projects, og pag semento og usa ka mahinungdanon nga dalan sa Barangay San Jose.
Sa Barangay Cambinocot, mi sponsor ko sa resolution nga nag allocate of P1.8 million gikan sa atong bahin sa Pagcor funds aron ipalit og 600 ka buok empty drums og 300 rolls nga hose isip pagpangandam sa summer.
Gi approve kinisa konseho niadtog December 21. Gidugangan pa gyud kini og lain nga P300,000 niadtong Pebrero aron duna silay magasto sa planning event as ilang mga kabatanunan.
Puhon, makahimo sab kita og road concreting with drainage system didto. Duna sab kita’y i de-clog nga drainage system. Duna sab kita’y paga paliton nga motor vehicle for use during emergencies.
Ining duha ka mga barangays lang, hinaut mapun-an kay 15 kabuok mountain barangays sa Cebu City, mubudget na kita daa’g dili mumenos P30 million.
I meet with barangay captains, barangay councilors, and our own community leaders regularly to discuss their concerns.
I try hard nga masiguro nga ang perspectives sa atong mga leaders og mga mulupyo sa upland barangays, labi na ang ilang mga kababayen-an, are considered and represented in all the laws that I draft and propose to the City Council.
I am thankful whenever women organizations, like this one from Barangay Lusaran, ang usa sa labing hilit nga barangay sa north district, are formed.
A women’s organization was recently formed in Barangay Lusaran. Ang Lusaran ang labing layo nga barangay sa atong distrito. Boundary na siya sa atong dakbayan, Balamban-Asturias, og Copostela-Danao.
I’ve also been very open to partnering with civic groups and organizations that can help bring much-needed services — medical missions, feeding programs, food aid distribution, legal clinics, ug uban pa.
In fact, dunay pagahimoon nga ka medical mission, feeding, og rice distribution sa duha ka mga mountain barangays sa North District sugod ugma (April 24, 2021) kuyog ang civic organizaation nga JCI Cebu Hara, usa ka kahugpungan sa mga halangdon kaayo nga mga batan-on nga kababayen-an sa atong dakbayan.
Ang atong tuyo: wala’y bukiran nga barangay ang mabiyaan sa batakang serbisyo nga gi dalit ning atong dakbayan. Sa atong mga opisyales, leaders, supporters, ug uban nga mga higala sa mountain barangays, duna koy pasalig. Duna moy kaalyado. G?
If all goes well, Cebu City will become the first Local Government Unit in the country nga mudawat og cryptocurrency as payment for business and real property taxes
Niadtong Merkules, April 14, mipirma si Mayor Edgar Labella sa kasabutan nga tun-an sa atong Hara nga Dakbayan, uban ang pribadong’ company nga C PASS, INC., ang feasibility niini nga plano.
Mayor Edgar Labella and Jaewon Kim with the customary handshake after the MOU signing. Photo by Cebu City PIO
Ang C PASS usa ka Filipino-Korean partnership. Sila maoy mo issue sa cryptocurrency nga ilang gitawag og ‘C PESO’ nga base sab sa blockchain technology nga Ethereum.
Duna sab silay remittance and payment system nga migamit sa technologies and processes nga gigamit sab didto sa Korea. Kini mahimong gamiton sa City Hall aron sa pagdawat sa mga virtual and contactless nga bayad gikan sa mga magbubuhis.
The adoption of secure, reliable, and convenient technologies for our constituents is one such innovation. No more long lines, no more mass gatherings, no more monies physically changing hands.
As a stable coin, people can buy C PESO and ‘load’ unto their ‘digital wallets’ for use in virtual City Hall transactions using either a web-based or an app-based remittance and payment system, as well as in physical but contact-less transactions using NFC, QR code, and similar technologies.
L-R: City Administrator Floro Casas Jr., Lito Lee of HOTCHI SLR Corp., Mayor Labella, C PASS CEO Jaewon Kim, City Councilor Renato Osmeña, and C PASS president Bruce Kim. Photo by Cebu City PIO
While online payment methods are already employed by the City, the option to use C PESO adds to the ease of doing business with the city because it removes the inconvenience of having to visit a bank or a pera padala.
I understand from C PASS, INC. Chief Executive Officer Jaewon Kim that they’ve already issued the C PESO and that it is just waiting adoption. I also understand from him that he sees wider commercial use for C PESO in the future.
Ako sab. This can be used unya as credits sa atong nagpadayon na nga Bus Rapid Transit roll out. Dako sab ni siya og madala nga kaayuhan sa mga OFWs nga magpadala’s kwarta sa ilang mga pamilya dinhi kay wala nay conversion og dili maapektuhan og inflation.