Boracay Asserts Position As Major Revenue Earner

The white beach with sugar white sand (below) and a tourist relaxing on the hammock hang by the trunk of a binding coconut tree (above) in Boracay island. /MP

With two months short of closing Calendar Year 2006, Boracay Island Malay, Aklan has projected itself as a phenomenal revenue earner for the province.
Boracay Island, with its beaches of fine, white sand and crystal-clear blue waters, is the jewel of Aklan’s tourism industry and the prime tourist destination of the country.
Records displayed at the lobby of the Provincial Capitol building, Kalibo from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) as part of its participation in the celebration of National Statistics Month (one provincial activity being a statistical exhibit) show that in just five years, revenue collections in Boracay island multiplied five times since BIR-Aklan intensified its collection strategy there in 2002.
An illustration of this astounding performance is seen in the Comparative District Collection Performance total, which, in 2002, amounted to P16,494,453.34. Four years after and this early (as of September 2006), collections in Boracay Island has reached P82,808,879.61, an increase of P66,314,426.27 or 502 percent in a span of five years.
Collections in between 2002 and 2006 also rose remarkably. In 2003, collections totaled P19,934,305.25; 2004 – P29,963,738.88 ( an increase of more than P10 million); while in 2005, a total of P64,400,587.42 registering an increase of P34,436,848.54 when pitted against the 2004 collections.
The same trend manifested in the collection performance of mainland Aklan, Revenue District Office No. 71, although BIR-Aklan Revenue District Officer Lilivic Gatdula said more or less 20 percent of the collection is from Boracay. However, in the months of January, August and September of this year, there was a slight decrease in collection. As seen in the January 2006 record, collections amounted to P33,903,831.10 while in 2005 of the same month, P39,749,012.91 was collected. For August 2006, collected was P31,537,431.73 while during the same month in 2005, collections amounted to P39,109,362.05. In September 2006, collected was P30,358,168.55 while in 2005 of the same month, the collection was P35,265,731.32.
Gatdula said the decrease was caused by One-Time Property Transactions (ONETT) considered as non-recurring. For the month of January 2005, ONETT collection was P21,364,980; August 2005 – P16,527,165.20 and for September 2005 – P13,337.00.
"No non-recurring transaction was collected for the year 2006," Gatdula clarified.
For year 2003, BIR-Aklan was able to collect a total of P172,098,503.90, lower than the P172,415,642.12 collected in 2002. For the succeeding years, the trend is going up – P229,842,418.02 was collected in 2004, while P367,135,350.48 was collected in 2005.
This year and short by three months to wind up the current Calendar Year, total collected revenues up to September 2006 amount to P305,047,360.33. Gatdula said, the remaining goal for the year is P140,387,639.67. She is positive, however, that BIR-Aklan will be able to surpass this target and register more collections than that of 2005.
Last year, BIR-Aklan projected first in the region in terms of collection compared to prior year. In terms of goal, the revenue district came second, according to Gatdula. (PIA/Venus G. Villanueva) /MP mailto:madyaas_pen@yahoo.com