NEWS: Panabo LGU facing P40 M budget cut due to return of 16 cities

By Cha Monforte, Rural Urban News

MAR 2

Panabo City Mayor Jose Silvosa yesterday bared in his State of the City Address (SOCA) that his city government is facing a revenue cut of P40 million with the recent decision of the Supreme Court upholding the return of 16 towns to the category of becoming cities.

And with it, he said, before guests and city officials including Congressman Anton Lagdameo and former Congressman Antonio “Tonyboy” Floirendo Jr., the city council has passed the revised local tax ordinance providing for 20-percent increase of the old tax rate for business and real estate.

He defended that the tax rate adjustment is “just and timely after so many years have elapsed” such that the tax code was enacted 18 years ago when the city was still a municipality.

He compared that while all of Davao del Norte’s municipalities have the base market value for export banana land pegged at P113,000 per hectare, for Panabo City it is still pegged at P34,400 per hectare.

“In the case of residential lots, Sto. Tomas (town) fixed their base market value for urban lots at P360 per square meter, ours is P350. For rural residential lot, Sto. Tomas has set it at P250 per square meter, (ours) is P180,” he added.

Panabo City government in 2009 grossed an income of P506 million, about P350 million or 69 percent of which came from Internal Revenue Allotment, where the P40- million budget cut would come from.

The locally generated taxes in the same year amounted to P165 million or 31 percent, per Silvosa’s SOCA report.

The city government realized a net income of P116.5 million for the year after deducting the gross income with P384.5-million operating expenses, P21 million loan servicing and subsidies for barangays.

Silvosa however noted that the capital base of city government under his watch since 2007 in the span of two years has grown by almost 20 percent or about P110.3 million.

He also reported his accomplishments in wide-ranging fields of governance, and called and rallied government workingmen and the people for stronger collaboration and more participation in the effort of alleviating the plight of the poor. (Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News)

Filed under: panabo mayor jose silvosa, Panabo City Mayor Jose Silvosa

OPINION: Chutzpah

BLOGISTA

By Cha Monforte

jan 3

Panabo City Mayor Jose Silvosa is showing fresh image.For too long he’s not that type of chief executive who parrots what his department heads say good to governance in his own turf. He’s often a low-tone speaking mayor, but when pressed on the wall by hail of questions, he would talk back in rathe louder tone and show what’s in his mind.

It was before Christmas that Mayor Silvosa let loose stings to reminisce his past and remind to current Noynoy backers in Davao del Norte. The mayor apparently described these Noynoy backers led by Davao del Norte Governor Rodolfo del Rasario and his son Anthony del Rosario to have already such chutzpah to claim they’re the bunch of oppositionists when the mayor then fought hard for Cory in the past while these current socialite oppositionists were then the rapid Marcos loyalists. “I was imprisoned during Marcos time,” Silvosa said.

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The mayor’s memory offers a past timeline in the 80s when being with the yellow opposition was show of pride amid the excesses of Marcos regime. But he faulted Cory for failing to handle the country’s state of affairs under her watch, that Silvosa, in rabidly now rooting for Gibo even if he’s the last man standing to vote for him, said he couldn’t give his vote to Noynoy fearing he’ll take the same footsteps of his mother if he becomes the president.

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Is Mayor Silvosa just taking the cue of Congressman Anton Lagdameo, who is just the same a rabid Gibo fan? The mayor’s recent reflex was different compared to what he said why the 1st District Congressman Arrel Olano was absent when ex-Ms. Universe Margie Moran-Floirendo declared her gubernatorial bid. “Maybe the congressman (Olano) is alangin to be with Lakas,” he said, while Cong. Lagdameo reasoned that Olano knew the gathering and was just attending an important activity that he couldn’t skip. Silvosa just shot back to my query without giving any reservation. But it reinforced what Lagdameo floated in media rounds. Verily, the mayor is giving a good cheer the Lakas-Kampi-CMD party in the province led by Cong. Lagdameo.

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But later we knew that Olano, who is now running for city mayor as independent Lakas, was really “feel slighted” of the activity for Margie’s bid without him being invited to be present at the Lakan Pakals Hotel which is already within Olano’s district. Olano was even qouted to have said “they made a mockery to the Lakas” that he has been a member of for quite a long time, when there was a reported imprimatur from Lagdameo and presumably from former Cong. Tonyboy Floirendo in the attempt to have one of Olano’s rivals organize and finalize the city’s Lakas slate, without of course the last-termer congressman. That was accordingly the reason why Olano ran for mayor as independent Lakas to preempt such obviously “lobotomy” act. In the end, Olano’s COC was without an official Lakas certificate of nomination as the one holding it was his District 2 counterpart- Cong. Lagdameo, the Lakas party provincial chairman. Politics is a-burning in Davao del Norte. (e-mail: chamonforte@yahoo.com)

Filed under: panabo mayor jose silvosa, CONGRESSMAN OLANO, EX-CONG. TONYBOY FLOIRENDO JR, PANABO MAYOR SILVOSA

NEWS: Panabo mayor hits bolting “underground Lakas” execs as “opportunists”

dec 31

Panabo City Mayor Jose Silvosa hit the other day as “opportunists” the reported “underground” Lakas incumbent governors and congressmen in the country who were said to be already re-grouping to throw their support in due time to whoever is the leading presidential candidate other than the administration standard-bearer Gilbert Teodoro.

“I would still support Gibo even if I’m the only last man standing to vote for him in the country,” Silvosa, Lakas-Kampi-CMD city chairman, said adding that Teodoro is the man to watch in next year’s polls given his outstanding credentials and capacity to lead the country.

Silvosa commented in the wake of a report bared by a top official of one of the provinces disclosing that the re-grouping Lakas incumbents were usually composed of older governors and congressmen.

The top official said that Lakas young ones in the likes of Sarangani Governor Miguel “Migs” Dominguez, who is now the Lakas-Kampi-CMD national chairman, Davao del Norte District Rep. Anton Lagdameo and Compostela Valley District 2 Rep. Rommel Amatong were rabidly rooting for Gibo as they consider him like a “kabarkada” given their similar or near age level.

The older ones are more pragmatic and practical in their politics and they wanted to be sure to ride the boat of the next administration while Teodoro has remained to be trailing behind in the recent surveys, said the top official, who requested anonymity.

The older Lakas incumbents were said to be either eyeing to support presidential candidates Noynoy Aquino (Liberal Party) or Manny Villar (Nacionalista Party).

But they did not earn praise to the mayor of Panabo, a known vote-rich town within the three-town and two-city District 2 bailiwick of the banana magnate Floirendos and Lagdameos.

“It’s the height of their political opportunism,” Silvosa said while apparently hitting the band of Davao del Norte Governor Rodolfo del Rosario, now with the LP after being with Lakas for a long time, when the mayor said: “Who are they to carry Noynoy now when I was imprisoned at the time of Marcos and had fought much for Cory?”.

Silvosa was imprisoned during Marcos time for his human rights lawyering. He was one of the leading opposition lights in the province in the prelude before the downfall of Marcos from power when march-rallies and yellow Fridays became the order of the day in Davao City and provinces towards the mid 90s.

“I cannot give my vote to Noynoy. There were many unfortunate events that happened during the Cory administration… she was not ready to handle them,” he said. (Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News)

Filed under: panabo city mayor jose silvosa jr, panabo mayor jose silvosa, panabo mayor jose silvosa