CATARMAN, Northern Samar — Once in sickbed as the country’s third poorest, Northern Samar is set to join the elite list of first class provinces due to increased income surpassing the threshold set under the law.

Northern Samar Gov. Edwin Ongchuan made the announcement during his state of the province address last Monday, 17 June.

Ongchuan said that in the last three years, Northern Samar’s average annual income reached almost P2 billion, which is way above the P1.5 billion threshold to be considered as a first class province under Republic Act 11964 or the “Automatic Income Classification of Local Government Units Act” which Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed in October 2023.

Once the IRR is released, Northern Samar will become the third first class province in Eastern Visayas after Leyte and Samar provinces.

RA 11964 institutionalizes automatic income classification of local government units (LGUs) to provide a more responsive approach to the promotion of local autonomy and to enable LGUs to realize their full economic potential. The law took effect on January 1, 2024.

The law states that the State “recognizes the need to determine the financial capability and fiscal position of local government units.”

Under the law, provinces that obtained an average annual regular income of at least P1.5 billion for three fiscal years are classified as first class provinces.

Northern Samar obtained an income of P1.8 billion in 2021, P2.3 billion in 2022 and P2.1 billion in 2023.