7 Iloilo towns officially ‘First Class’
Oton ‘richest,’ Dueñas slides to ‘4th class’ list
Good news to the Province of Iloilo!
Reclassification of Iloilo towns in terms of Average Annual Income (AAI) now placed seven municipalities as “First-Class” towns. What’s more - 18 towns improved altogether and now re-classified a notch higher from previous classifications.
And for the not-so-good news - 12 Iloilo towns showed no improvement while one in the Fourth District sadly decreased and became “Fourth Class” from previous “Third Class” classification.
The official listing was obtained yesterday by The News Today (TNT).
With over P65 million in annual income, the Municipality of Oton topped other Iloilo towns thus getting out of the “second-class” list to the “Lucky 7 First Class” club. Other “First Class” towns include Calinog with over P57 million AAI, Dumangas and Janiuay with over P56 million AAI, Lambunao with over P60 million AAI and Pototan with over P61 million AAI. While Oton is the “richest,” Lambunao and Miag-ao showed the most in significant improvement, getting out of the “Third Class” list straight to being “First Class.”
Meantime, Dueñas as per report and certified by the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) is single-handedly the only town to slide from being “Third-Class” to “Fourth Class.”
It may not be the “poorest” in terms of income yet records as validated by the BLGF showed its over P34 million AAI to have caused the reclassification.
Fourth Class municipalities are those within the category of income class “P25 million or more but less than P35 million.”
Other improved towns include Ajuy (3rd to 2nd), Alimodian (4th to 3rd), Barotac Nuevo ((3rd to 2nd), Barotac Viejo (4th to 3rd), Cabatuan (3rd to 2nd), Carles (3rd to 2nd), Concepcion (4th to 3rd), Estancia (3rd to 2nd), Pavia (3rd to 2nd), San Enrique (4th to 3rd), San Joaquin (3rd to 2nd) and Tigbauan (3rd to 2nd).
Only two Iloilo towns – Batad in the Fifth District and Mina in the Third District – remain as “Fifth Class” municipalities. AAI of these towns are within the P15 million or more but less than P25 million range.
Income brackets of “First Class” is set at P55 million or more, “Second Class” is P45 million or more but less than P55 million and “Third Class” P35 million or more but less than P45 million.