During a press conference at the Museo ning Angeles here on Wednesday, Pamintuan said the claims of Rivera on Lazatin’s performance are “all lies.”
Pamintuan said for the record, in the last year of Lazatin’s administration, as attested by the City Treasurer and the City Accountant, the fi gure is about P600 million (P553 million in 2006 and P562 million in 2007) and 70 percent of it is from the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) and 30 percent from local businesses.
“That’s poor because 70 percent is IRA dependent,” the mayor said.
Rivera, who has announced his plan to run for vice mayor, said it was during the time of Lazatin that the city revenue collection reached P1 billion from P300 million.
But Pamintuan said it was during the last term of former Mayor Francis “Blueboy” Nepomuceno that the city revenues reached P800 million.
But Nepomuceno’s administration was still very much IRA dependent at 65 percent, he said.
Pamintuan said it was during his time when it reached P1 billion and now P1.5 billion. He said his IRA is only 40 percent and 60 percent is generated from the local revenues at that time even before the implementation of the adjusted real property taxes.
Bayani Ng Maralita award
Pamintuan said he was a recipient, together with Mabalacat City Mayor Marino “Boking” Morales, of the Bayani Ng Maralita award in the aftermath of the Mt. Pinatubo eruption from the Presidential Urban Poor Commission which was two years ahead of Lazatin.
Earlier, Rivera said “we were able to solve the urban poor issue from 1998 to 2007 where more or less 15,000 families were given houses and lots who were former squatters. This is unprecedented that is why Tarzan was an awardee of the Presidential Commission on Urban Poor for his accomplishment on urban poor twice.”
On the city hall
Pamintuan said it was during his term as vice mayor when the new city hall was constructed. “I was the vice mayor then and I was the one who negotiated for the land,” Pamintuan said. “I was the one who built the third fl oor,” he added.
Rivera said it was during the time Lazatin that the city government transferred to its present location.
“But what has Lazatin done? He was always in the casino where he signed offi cial documents for the city while his promises of benefi ts to city hall employees, who were already then rallying, were not given,” Pamintuan said.
“We want a mayor who is focused and who delivers basic services and the needs of the people. That is the job of the mayor,” he said. “You should not allow your ilk to do the job for you,” he added.
