Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte has assured Quezon City residents of her commitment to sustain her administration's good governance initiatives, which she attributes as at the core of the city government's positive achievements to date.
During her State of the City Address on Friday, Belmonte stressed that while they have reached new heights in providing services to city residents, the local government still can improve the lives of the people.
In 2018, before she assumed the city's top position, Belmonte reported that Quezon City collected only P16-billion in revenues from local sources such as taxes, businesses and other fees.
When she took over the following year, the city's locally sourced revenue grew to P19.3-billion. Quezon City's income has consistently grown since then, and as of October, P20.3-billion had already been collected with two months left in 2023.
The mayor also said that the city's revenues have been put to good use, with 38 percent or P13.4-billion going to social services, some P5-billion for education and P3.4-billion for infrastructure development.
Despite the increase in budget, the city government has ensured that the funds are properly utilized and accounted for down to the last centavo, as evidenced by the city having received a third straight unqualified opinion from the Commission on Audit, the highest audit rating that can be bestowed on a local government unit.