The Cebu City government, overcoming an inherited budget deficit from the previous administration, has racked up a revenue collection of P7.6 billion so far since the start of this fiscal year, while also observing prudent spending.
In an interview yesterday (October 10), City Treasurer Emma Villarete said that when the new administration came in, multiple expenses were cut to address the inherited budget deficit, but at the same time, they intensified revenue collection efforts, particularly on tax delinquencies.
For the third quarter alone, from July to September, Villarete said the city was able to collect at least P1.9 billion. Although this is still within the range of the city’s usual collection in the previous year, it is six to seven percent higher, she said.
Villarete explained that there has been no drastic increase in revenue collection since no new collection measures have been implemented, such as raising tax rates. This means the city continues to rely on its existing revenue collection efforts, she added.
Mayor Nestor Archival has tasked the Treasury to achieve its target revenue of P11.5 billion by the end of the year. Villarete expressed confidence in meeting the goal. ‘Makita ra gyud nato nga medyo kaya ra jud nga makaabot tag P11 billion,’ she said.
When Mayor Archival delivered his first State of the City Address (SOCA), he highlighted the situation that the city was facing a budget deficit of P6.8 billion out of a projected P19.7 billion in expenditures if the current operations were to continue.
To address the projected deficit, Villarete said they have maximized the use of other funds, such as those from PAGCOR, where they charge expenses for the City’s Hospitalization Assistance and Medicines Program (CHAMP). Aside from this, Villarete also credited the cost-saving efforts of the Office of the Vice Mayor, which opted not to utilize a portion of its budgetary allocation.
For the Cebu City Medical Center, Villarete said they are maximizing the hospital’s PhilHealth share to further save funds. She also said they have been diligent in following the directive to observe prudent spending.
‘Karon, dili kaayo ing-ana kadaghan atong purchase requests for procurement, ni-reduce na ‘ta sa kaon, ni-reduce na ‘ta sa t-shirt, t-shirt,’ said the city treasurer.
She also mentioned that while the city used to provide food at every event, this practice has been reduced to cut costs.
To effectively monitor purchase requests, Villarete stated that whenever a request comes to her desk, she frequently asks the corresponding department to justify the necessity of the request. She explained that this practice helps her carefully evaluate the limitations of the requested budget allocation.
Furthermore, when Mayor Archival ordered to intensify the city’s revenue collection efforts, Villarete said they immediately requested additional Job Order (JO)employees whose task is to issue notices of tax delinquencies.
Since she assumed the post as city treasurer two months ago, implementing this new effort, Villarete said that payments from delinquent taxpayers have already improved.
‘Daghan na gyud ang ni-respond sa atoa and, in addition nakapanghatag na sad ta og mga tax delinquencies sa mga barangay kay na-augment naman atong JOs,’ said Villarete.
To further strengthen collections next year, Villarete said they will explore more ways to review the current Joint Venture Agreements (JVAs) that the city is engaged in, and ensure that the city’s share is properly remitted.
During his inaugural speech, Archival also shared the city’s financial standing by presenting the current manpower of City Hall, which stood at around 8,569 employees as of June 2025.
He cited that the total salary expenses for the remaining months of the year will amount to P1.2 billion. For JO employees, if the current number is retained, the city will spend at least P497 million.