Create a progress fund for LGUs

Senator Edgardo J. Angara today called on national and international institutions within provinces and municipalities to contribute a certain amount of their operating cost to maintain the town's physical and social development.

Angara cited the dilemma of local government units in Los Baños, Laguna, where, although great strides in biotechnology and agriculture have been made, physical and social development is not met.

"The presence of national and international institutions here in Los Baños, Laguna is both a blessing and a bane. Despite prestige, fame and power, an additional income intended to further develop the town is not precisely disbursed to the people," Angara said.

"Almost forty-five percent of total land in Los Baños is used to shelter different national and international institutions. Sure the municipality is giving birth to most of the original ideas in genetics, biotechnology, and cultivation of rice and agriculture in general. But the town's physical and social developments are hampered because local government is in short of money to improve their condition," Angara explained.

Angara cited the 22 national and international centers of learning in Los Baños, Laguna like the University of the Philippines, the Philippine Council for Agriculture Forestry and Natural Resources, Research and Development (PCARRD) and the South East Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), to name a few.

Angara noted that these institutions are exempted from paying real property taxes as mandated in the present fiscal incentive system. This results to about 100-million-peso annual loss on the part of Los Baños government which is supposed to be used for developing their town.

"If an institution whether foreign or local were an investor, that institution will be exempted from paying real estate taxes simply because of their nature. That is, the institutions themselves represent efforts to create an environment conducive for businesses to flourish, encouraging investment and increasing local market easily," Angara said.

"To resolve such dilemma, we might as well influence our local government to convince mother companies of these national and international institutions just so they can allot a certain 'progress fund' to offer for the town's social and physical development," Angara explained.

"Los Baños government should convince the Department of Science and Technology, for instance, the mother company of PCARRD, to allocate a certain amount coming from the institution's annual operating cost. This amount will be used to maintain the first-class quality in existing public buildings, roads, and even water tanks," Angara said.

"Los Baños is giving these institutions the infrastructure and social support in the form of roads, bridges and even water supply; and yet the town remains parsimonious in handling their funds because the townsfolk are receiving nothing in return," Angara continued.