The City of Makati got the highest audit rating from the Commission on Audit (COA) for its 2019 financial statements, an unprecedented 'three-peat' achievement for a local government unit.
Makati now holds the record of earning COA's highest audit rating for three consecutive years.
Mayor Abigail Binay said she was "extremely delighted" by COA's ‘unmodified opinion’ after concluding that the city's financial statements were presented fairly and in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles.
The city government received the good news through a letter dated July 6, 2020 signed by COA director Omar Roque.
As this developed, Mayor Binay shared that her administration posted a four percent-revenue growth in the first half of the year.
City Treasurer Jesusa Cuneta reported that Business Tax collections jumped four percent to P6.69 billion in June 2020 from P6.42 billion the previous year. Revenue from Real Property Tax also increased by three percent to P4.72 billion from P4.58 billion.
As of June 2020, Cuneta also reported that the city has attained 73 percent of its revenue target for 2020 with a total of P12.98 billion in actual collections. Target revenue collection for the year is P17.76 billion.
“I'm heartened by these positive developments as the city grapples with the pandemic. We're thankful for meeting COA’s stringent standards for the third straight year,” said Binay.
She added she was pleasantly surprised to learn that the city achieved a four percent year-on-year gain in revenue collections for the first half of 2020 despite the challenges posed by COVID-19.
"We hope to sustain the upward trend for our income in the coming months,” the city chief executive said.
For the past four years, the city has been implementing reforms and innovations to promote transparency and efficiency in its operations. It continues to pursue a ‘no-contact’ policy to eliminate fixers and curtail corruption, particularly in the processing of business permits.