The computation of national tax allotment (NTA) typically relies on factors such as population size and land area. However, this standard approach often overlooks crucial aspects of island provinces, resulting in disparities in resource allocation. Senator Imee Marcos highlighted this issue during an interview with PIA Romblon.
“Kulang na kulang ang investment sa country side. Yun nga ang napag-uusapan namin ni Gov [Riano], kung paano makakaarangkada ang island provinces na lagi nalang huli kasi ang binibilang lagi ay ang land area, edi maliit, hindi naman kasali ang dagat; bibilangin ang populasyon, ang liit nanaman kasi kalat-kalat pa,” she explained.
[The investment in the countryside is lacking. That's what Gov [Riano] and I talked about, how the island provinces can progress. They're always behind because they only count the land area, which is small, and doesn't include the sea; when they count the population, it's small too because it's scattered.]
Marcos suggested changing the way the government calculates how to share NTA and resources to make it fairer for places like Romblon, which are made up of islands.
She said that provinces with lots of water but not much land often don't get enough money from the government. She thinks this is unfair and wants the system to be updated so that these areas can develop properly.
“Sa amin halimbawa, sa Ilocos, bilang naman yung mga bundok; dito [sa Romblon] ‘yung tubig hindi naman bilang e sakop parin ‘yun kasi hindi ka naman makakapunta sa iba't ibang isla pag hindi ka tumawid ng tubig o ng dagat,” Marcos said.
[For example, in Ilocos, they count the mountains; here in Romblon, they don't count the water but it's still part of the territory because you can't reach the other islands without crossing the water or the sea.]
Marcos talked about the many problems that island provinces face, like how hard it is to get around, the lack of roads and buildings, and the difficulties of traveling between islands. She said these issues need to be looked at together, unlike in places with more land, where there are fewer problems to deal with.
Echoing Marcos' sentiments, Concepcion Mayor Nicon Fameronag also urged a reconsideration of the NTA computation methodology. He said that places like his town, which has a lot of water but not much land, should get more help from the government.
Concepcion has a land area of about 2,330 hectares and about 73,000 hectares of municipal waters.
Fameronag explained that local government units like Concepcion are allocating budgets to develop not only land areas but also for projects and programs involving municipal waters.
