LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The city government of Baguio expects to receive the P85 million remaining unpaid shares from the operations of business locators within special economic zones in the locality.

President Benigno Aquino III said Monday that the national government has set aside almost P1.8 billion from the national fund purposely to settle the unpaid shares of local government units.

For years now, the city government has been exerting efforts to collect its unpaid share, which was earlier pegged at P125 million. The President however said the amount could be lower due to payments made in the past.

The President said the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the National Treasury will reconcile their records to determine the actual shares of the LGUs.

Based on the certification of the BIR dated Sept. 11, 2003, it was indicated that the two percent share of the city from 1996 to 2002 was P85,543,424.56.

Budget Sec. Florencio Abad assured City Mayor Mauricio Domogan of the possible release of the city’s shares this year.

The assurance came in wake of the decrease of the internal revenue allotment shares of the cities after the Supreme Court upheld the cityhood of 15 towns including the component city of Tabuk in Kalinga.

In his earlier letter to Domogan, Abad said, “The General Appropriations Bill from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2012 under allocations to local government units, special provision 8 release of the share of Baguio City from the gross income tax paid by all business establishments within the Loakan Economic Zone, in the amount of P85M shall be released by the DBM directly to the City of Baguio upon the submission of the joint or reconciled certification/s of actual collection by the BIR and the remittance to the (Bureau of the Treasury).”

While the amount has yet to be remitted, Domogan said it can be allocated for other priority projects.