Barangay chairmen to share P51-billion IRA this year

MANILA, Philippines - Barangay chairmen nationwide will share among themselves P51 billion in Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) this year.

The 42,025 barangays have a total of P51 billion in IRA at their disposal for development programs and projects, according to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

However, the amount will not be equally divided among the different barangays since the IRA shares depend on the earnings of the local governments.

The bigger the revenue of a local government, the higher its IRA share.

Based on figures from the National Barangay Operations Office (NBOO), P51,865,195,577 in IRA has been allocated for barangays nationwide, according to Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo.

In Caloocan City, chairman Cesar Padilla of Barangay 176 in Bagong Silang receives an average of P15,000 monthly, according to Carlito Peralta, a kagawad (councilman).

At times, the money they receive increases since Barangay 176 is the biggest in the country, he added.

As a kagawad, he gets an average P12,000 monthly allowance, Peralta said.

However, in Barangay 584 in Sta. Mesa, Manila, chairman Evelyn Pis-an receives an allowance of a little over P23,000 quarterly or not more than P8,000 monthly.

Peralta said allowances for barangay officials in Manila could be smaller because of the city’s density.

“There’s a barangay in every corner so their allocation is very small,” he said in Filipino.

The Local Government Code defines the IRA as the share of local governments from the national internal revenue taxes.

Under the law, 60 percent of national internal revenue taxes goes to the national government and 40 percent is allocated to local governments as IRA.

Barangays get 20 percent of the IRA, while provinces and cities receive 23 percent each, and municipalities 34 percent, according to the Local Government Code.

Based on the same NBOO report, barangays in Calabarzon got the highest total IRA with P6,051,123,993; followed by Central Luzon with P4,868,985,120; the National Capital Region with P4,706,042,169; Western Visayas with P4,459,770,152; and Eastern Visayas with P3,676,933,919.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is studying proposals to postpone the Oct. 25 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in more areas affected by typhoon “Juan.”

Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said regional election directors have proposed postponement of elections in Tineg, Abra and parts of Zambales and parts of Ilocos and Cagayan Valley regions due to flooding, destruction of public schools and roads.

“We are studying that,” he said. “These are the areas in the path of the typhoon.”

The Comelec had decided to move the polls to November in the coastal towns of Maconacon, Divilacan and Palanan in Isabela after consulting with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

But the poll body had decided to proceed with the elections in Cagayan, Isabela and Kalinga provinces that now suffer from power outage.

The Comelec had decided to adjust the voting hours in these three provinces, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. to 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. – With Sheila Crisostomo, Non Alquitran, Eva Visperas, Nestor Etolle