THE Provincial Government of Misamis Oriental is set to conduct public hearings on the proposed amendment of the province's revenue code.
Governor Yevgeny Vincente "Bambi" Emano is urging taxpayers to attend the public hearing which will be initiated by the Provincial Board on July 21, at the Talisayan Gymnasium for District 1 and on July 28, at the Misamis Oriental Rural Service Electric Cooperative (MORESCO) covered court in Laguindigan for District 2.
"This is everybody's concern. This activity should be well-participated by the general public so they will ultimately hear of their sentiment," Emano said.
"It talks about the taxes of the people, so they should also be heard whether they are against or in favor of our planned amendments of this certain policy. The people is the supreme judge in all transactions of the provincial government," Emano added.
Board Member Wayne Militante, chairman of the committee on ways and means, said comments from the public will be documented and considered in the decision-making.
"This is in line with the governor's transparency programs under his governance," Militante said.
It can be recalled that the province's revenues in 2016 reached to P1.4 billion.
The increase is attributed to the local revenues such as in business and property taxes, fees and charges from the province's economic enterprises, and the external revenues including the internal revenue allotment and the excise taxes.
With the amendment of the code, Emano said he hopes to strengthen the province’s coffers by improving collection.