Mayor Abigail Binay underscored the City of Makati’s P16.97-billion revenue collection in 2017 as she delivered her State of the City Address during the first monthly meeting of the Rotary Club of Makati held at the Peninsula Manila.
The record revenue collection was one of Makati’s biggest achievements, Binay said, as it was 12 percent higher than the city’s actual collection in 2016.
“We have reason to be jubilant about the two-digit increase because based on official records, the city has only posted one-digit year-on-year increases for the past 12 years,” Binay said.
She said the Business Tax remained the top source of revenue with P8.22 billion, up 10 percent over 2016, followed by Real Property Tax with P6.22 billion, higher by 15 percent than the previous year.
“We are heartened by the apparently robust state of our finances. We humbly thank you, our faithful taxpayers and stakeholders, for your contributions to Makati’s continuing progress,” said Binay.
The mayor underscored innovations done in the field of public health in 2017, such as the launching in July of the Eye Center at the Ospital ng Makati, which aims to give the best ophthalmic care to Makatizens.
The Makati Health Department has also run vaccination programs among students and City Hall employees, matching the city’s thrust on preventive health care.
“The city was the first local government unit to implement a vaccination drive against Japanese Encephalitis, which has covered 1,056 employees as of December. This year, the drive will be implemented among our public school students also to complete our initial target of 60,000 beneficiaries,” she said.
Increasing the budget for the free medicines program turned out to be a prudent decision, the mayor said, as the city was able to provide free maintenance medicines, vitamins and other medications to some 527,989 beneficiaries.
Last October, the citywide Pet Microchipping Program was launched, making Makati the first city in Asia to use PET iChip technology on a large scale. The program is aimed at promoting animal identification, pet recovery, and rabies prevention, the mayor said.
“As of December, the program has covered some 241 pets in four villages, including our own pet dogs. By January 20, the City Pound will be accepting pets for microchipping. The Makati Veterinary Services Office will also be issuing ‘pet passports’ for each dog to assist owners who travel with their dogs as well as those who bring dogs in from abroad,” said Binay.
The city has also been very successful with its anti-rabies vaccination drive, she noted. For 2017, a total of 27,365 pets in all 33 barangays and villages of the city were vaccinated.
In education, Mayor Abby reported that for the first time, the city government provided a pair of brand new white rubber shoes to some 90,000 public school students from kinder to high school, including Special Education (SPED) learners.
The beneficiaries also continue to receive free school supplies, school uniforms and a pair of black school shoes.
The city government also distributed P5,000 cash incentive to each of the 557 SPED learners who were promptly enrolled by their parents in the city’s SPED centers last June, in line with its resolve that “no one gets left behind,” Binay said.
Aside from new CCTV’s, LED TV’s, and air-conditioning units, the city government has installed Tech-Voc Laboratories for 12 senior high schools, and the first Biotech Laboratory at the Makati Science High School.