Quezon, Makati are richest cities

THE bailiwicks of Vice President Jejomar Binay and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. are the richest cities in the country and with the highest spending in population control, health and education, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board. Romulo Virola, NSCB secretary general, said that the four consistently richest cities in 2008 were Quezon, Makati, Manila and Pasig.

In 2008, Quezon City’s total income amounted to P9.49 billion from P8.63 billion in 2007, while Makati earned P8.47 billion in 2008, followed by Manila, P7.43 billion and Pasig, P4.48 billion.

Included in the list of the richest cities in the Philippines were Cebu, Caloocan and Pasay, Muntinlupa and Mandaluyong.

“Note that only two of the 10 richest cities are not in Metro Manila—one is in Visayas, the other in Mindanao. Is this disparity in development, or disparity in governance or both?,” Virola said.

On a per capita basis, the two consistently richest cities are Makati and Tagaytay.

Makati’s per capita income in 2008 exceeded that of Tagaytay by more than P7,000 at P15,863 versus P8,689.

“No wonder the Makati residents get a lot of benefits from their government. So maybe, we should no longer wonder why former Mayor Binay won as vice president,” Virola said.

Alternately third and fourth are the cities of Pasig and Olongapo. Consistently among the top 10 are Parañaque, Mandaluyong and Pasay.

In terms of spending for health, nutrition and population control, the highest allocation consistently came from Manila, Makati, Quezon City, Pasig and Mandaluyong.

Other top 10 cities in 2008 were Parañaque, Las Piñas, Pasay, and Davao.

For education expenditure, Makati, Tagaytay, Pasig, and Urdaneta were the top cities. Makati spent P2,677 a person on education, almost double that of Tagaytay at P1,374.

In collecting taxes, Makati, Quezon City, Manila and Pasig are consistently the four cities with the highest total tax revenue.

The next four are Parañaque, Pasay, Mandaluyong, and Caloocan. Also in the top 10 is Davao, with Muntinlupa rounding up the list in 2008, and Cebu in 2007.

Meanwhile, the seven consistently biggest recipient cities of internal revenue allocation (IRA) are Quezon City, Davao, Manila, Zamboanga City, Caloocan, Puerto Princesa and Cebu.

Others cities in the top 10 for IRA are General Santos and Cagayan de Oro, with Antipolo rounding up the list in 2008 and Iligan in 2007.

Cities that borrowed the most in 2008, on the other hand, were Muntinlupa, Cagayan de Oro, Olongapo, Mandaue, Tarlac, Makati, Malaybalay, Sagay, Malabon, and Meycauayan.

In 2007, the list included Parañaque, Mandaue, Malaybalay, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Pasay, Cadiz, Tarlac, Cagayan de Oro, and Olongapo.

“We wonder though, did Muntinlupa, Makati, Parañaque, Mandaluyong, and Pasay really have to borrow?,” Virola said. –DARWIN G. AMOJELAR SENIOR REPORTER, Manila Times