The Commission on Audit (COA) has commended the third-class municipality of Pikit in North Cotabato for its efforts in improving revenue collections after the economic repercussions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Improvement exists on the revenue generation of the local government unit to provide a more sustainable and responsible fund source for the budgeted programs, projects, and activities of the local government unit that would be beneficial to the people of the municipality," the COA said in its 2023 annual audit report (AAR) on Pikit town. 

It said that in 2020, the municipality recorded a total of P8,240,343.45 tax revenue and P9,281,116.21 service and business income. The collections dipped in 2021 with P7,772,305.55 tax revenue and P8,990,524.21 service and business income.

Pikit's efforts to improve revenue collections showed that in 2022 the town generated P8,292,594.61 in tax revenues and P9,705,202.26 in service and business income, COA said. The figures further jacked up in 2023 with P8,885,426.36 tax revenue and P9,977,393.47 service and business income, it also said.

COA said: "The locally sourced revenues generated in 2020 and 2021, the years when the Covid-19 pandemic occurred, were obviously low. Despite the challenges that the municipal government of Pikit have faced during the Covid-19 pandemic, it was able to look for ways to sustain the government operation in providing service to its constituents."

Thus, it said, Pikit improved its dependence on the internal revenue allotment (IRA), which is a "good indicator" on the operation of the LGU in which more projects and programs can be implemented.

While the generation of revenues improved, COA noted that there was a decrease in collection efficiency ratio in 2023.

It cited the town's collection of real property tax which plummeted from 18.49 percent in 2022 to 13.9 percent in 2023.

"This could be a sign that improvement on strategies imposed by the LGU officials are effective but not sufficient to cope up with the set target. Thus, there is still a need to re-assess and re-evaluate those strategies to attain a more sustainable and effective cash generation in its real property tax," it said.

COA suggested a "robust system" for collecting fees and fines, such as the implementation of appropriate penalties for defaulters. "The LGU should also focus on improving the overall efficiency and transparency of the revenue collection systems," it also said.