Escalante Mayor Melecio Yap yesterday said he did not know why his city was not given a share of the funds to ease the cut in the Internal Revenue Allotment for this year, since it was also a recipient of the Department of Interior of Local Government Seal of Good Housekeeping.

In fact, Escalante’s award was handed to him by DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo himself last year, Yap said.

Yap said he will follow up with the secretary why his city was not included .

The Department of Interior and Local Government recently released P416,900,000 to the Negros Occidental provincial government, its 12 cities and 19 towns, except Escalante, to reduce their expected 2012 Internal Revenue Allotment cuts by almost one half, DILG provincial head Ma. Joy Maredith Madayag said Tuesday.

Last year the Department of Budget and Management announced nationwide IRA cuts this year, with the Negros Occidental provincial government, and its 13 cities and 19 towns to face a reduction of P940,585,592, saying it was due to poor tax collections during the Arroyo administration.

But President Benigno Aquino later announced that the national government had savings to reduce the P13 billion expected cut in the 2012 IRA to P6.5 billion.

Madayag said the LGUs whose IRA cuts were reduced by almost half were those that had received Seals of Good Housekeeping from the DILG.

She did not know the specifics on why Escalante was not included as the list of the recipients of the DILG released funds was only forwarded to her, Madayag said.

She advised Yap to inquire from the DILG head office on the matter, she added.*CPG

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