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Technical Working Group (TWG) interviewing business owners/operators in LGU Lambayong, S.K. using android tablets
On January 26 & 28, 2016, 21 members of the Technical Working Group (TWG) from the municipality of Lambayong, Sultan Kudarat, headed by the BPLO, Mr. Telesforo Agustin Jr., conducted business tax mapping using the Open Data Kit (ODK) application downloaded on their android smart phones/tablets. At least 450 business establishments in 12 barangays (Kapingkong, Lilit, Udtong, Poblacion, Katitisan, Tambak, Kabulakan, Pidtiguian, Mamali, Midtapok, Didtaras and Maligaya) were successfully mapped to intensify the tax collection campaign and revenue generation in the said municipality. This initiative is one of the significant activities supported by the EU-funded RESOURCEGov project to help enhance/increase the generation of the local income in its target municipalities including Lambayong, S.K.
With the latest and one of the most sophisticated mobile data collection using Open Data Kit (ODK), this allowed the team to rapidly obtain and process data. The data gathered revealed that some business establishments do not have business permits. As a result, business owners/operators were encouraged to secure and renew business permits to be allowed to continue their business operations.
The group was able to identify areas the LGU needs improvement on to fully enforce the collection of local taxes and other impositions. By doing so, this will aid in improving the overall fiscal performance of the municipality and to also fund the increasing demand for basic services for the people without relying solely on national allocations.