EFFECTING budget cuts in this bustling port town of Jagna, like unnecessary official travel, is what Mayor Joseph Ranola, a fiscal specialist, has done for two consecutive terms under his watch.
The bold fiscal move by the Ranola-Pagar administration has resulted to balances or savings at the end of each year.
As of the end of May this year, the balances in bank deposits amounted to P78,591,993.46 and P101,984,131.34 for the general fund and trust funds, respectively. The Special Education Fund at P2,522,626.42, data are showed to the visitors, including the members of the Bohol Tri-Media Association (BTMA) during its educational tour of the town upon the mayor’s invitation.
Mayor Ranola introduced his budget and accounts officers and treasurer just to show how Jagna town management works hard in the past six years that, despite the budget slash, still the town was able to manage well.
The following budget years showed increases: P202,479,692.93 in 2019; P193,915,442.82 in 2020; P182,771,959.65 in 2021; P245,485,654.47 in 2022; P249,781,992.40 in 2023; P229,677,046.82 in 2024; and over P244 million this year.
Its sources of revenues include local tax, National Tax Allotment share, tax revenue, non-tax and external sources and other incomes. P151,487,200.03 in 2019; P159,336,931.89 in 2020 (a time when its NTA share went down); P168,287,103.36 in 2021; P222,361,040.05 in 2022; P 199,713,072.66 in 2023; and P210,830,406.98 in 2024.
Meanwhile, in a celebration of tradition and good governance, the Municipality of Jagna proudly welcomed the BTMA and other visitors, including then provincial Board Member Eufrasio Mascarinas and wife, on June 16 with the marching band to historic St. Michael the Archangel Church. The visitors participated in and experienced the “patunob” said to be a sacred ritual in offering blessings and protection inside the Catholic church by literally wiping the statue of St. Michael the Archangel, to one’s body while kneeling. This keeps Jagna’s tradition intact.
After the church ritual, the visitors were led to its biggest infra in Calamay stage in its public Plaza where the play ‘Sinuog Estocada” was shown, played mostly by municipal employees.
Following the stage play, the visitors were welcomed to the new municipal building where they were honored with the symbolic “sabwag—a flower tossing ritual symbolizing abundance, hospitality, and gratitude.”
Then the presentation of the financial status of the town followed inside the Office of the Mayor, thru the Local Finance Committee (LFC) that delivered an insightful presentation on Jagna’s best practices of good governance. Mayor Rañola also presented to the visitors the first of its kind, the Forest Land Use Plan 2024–2033, stressing the town’s commitment to environmental development and protection.
The visit of Jagna’s air-conditioned cultural center made the visitors in awe, after seeing the venue the first time.
Not long after, the BTMA was brought to the place where the trash were turned to cash by way of the Solid Waste Recycling equipment being procured by Ranola’s dispensation are placed.
BTMA members were also shown the town’s renovated fish port in barangay Bunga Mar, where the cold storage facility to make fish fresh was built. (rvo)
