Mass wedding set Feb 14 / Upping Baguio revenue

CITY HALL BEAT

Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY - The Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) or Pag-IBIG Fund Baguio Branch in partnership with the city government of Baguio will conduct its annual mass wedding dubbed "I Do, I Do Araw ng Pag-ibig" this Valentine's Day, Feb. 14 at 3 p.m. at the Rose Garden, Burnham Park.

                Mayor Benjamin Magalong will officiate the civil rites for a total of 50 couples from the city which will be conducted       Simultaneously with other mass wedding rites in other parts of the country.

Interested couples may apply at the City Mayor's Office or the Pagibig Baguio office at S Building, Upper Session Road.

Pagibig Fund Baguio Branch Head Meriam Pamittan encouraged couples planning to get married to avail of the privilege.

Pagibig will provide wedding amenities including the symbolic cake, ring, arrhae, bouquet, headdress, veil and cord, food and catering and bridal car.It will also sponsor a raffle draw with handsome prizes at stake for the participating couples.The city government for its part will provide the venue and decorations among others.

Couples should have applied for their license not later than Jan. 27 which means that they should have submitted all the requirements at the City Registry Office under Asst. Dept. Head Bernardina Tabin.

The requirements are: Proof of age either the birth certificate or baptismal certificate (one must by a resident of the city); Parental consent for applicants aged 18 to 20  to be given preferably by the father (personal appearance with valid ID); Parental Advice for applicants aged 21 to 24 to be given preferably by the father; Certificate of No Marriage for both parties from the Philippine Statistics Authority; Certificate of Seminar on Family Planning and Responsible Parenthood at the Baguio Health Services Office (Schedule is Tuesdays at 1 to 5 p.m. and Thursday at 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.); Tree Planting Certificate issued by the City Environment and Parks Management Office ( Schedule is Monday and Wednesday 9:30-10:30 a.m.); Legal Capacity for foreigner applicants issued by their Consular Offices; Widow or Widower, death certificate of deceased spouse; Cedula or passport of both applicants; valid ID of both applicants; Ten Days Posting; and Processing and License  Fee of P142; Solemnization fee of P500.

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Mayor Magalong Jan. 6 identified three ways by which the city can pursue its target to aggressively increase its revenue this year and sustain its good financial standing in the coming years.

In the Executive-Legislative meeting, the mayor said the city is inclined to toe the line of “economic enterprise” to pursue its target of increasing the city’s income by P300 million to improve its fiscal status which had remained stagnant for the last seven years as per assessment of the City Budget Office.  

He said the city will tap its idle lands and other resources for conversion into revenue-generating assets under joint ventures with the private sector.

The city has around 16 titled lots located outside the central business districts as per the report of the General Services Office.

Turning these white elephants into income-generating properties will boost the city’s earnings, the mayor said.

Another possible source will be the adoption of the new schedule of market values which had long been awaiting adoption by the city council.

The mayor said the city will pursue the implementation of the new rates on a piecemeal basis to make it acceptable to and temper its impact on the taxpayers.  

During the meeting, the mayor appealed to the city council for reception to the realty and business tax reforms and all other revenue upgrading measures that are either pending or about to be proposed to the august body.

The mayor had tasked department heads concerned to study the imposition of additional fees such as sewerage, congestion and environmental fees.

These will all be submitted to the city council along with the proposed parking fees and increased anti-littering charges for consideration.

The city also plans to upgrade its Geographic Information System to enhance its spatial data which will help in identifying delinquent and undeclared businesses and residences for tax purposes which is a sure way of increasing collections for the city coffers.