The Ormoc City hall. (Photo courtesy of city government)
ORMOC CITY, Leyte – This city remains the wealthiest in Eastern Visayas with PHP7.47 billion in assets as of the end of 2022, the city government reported on Wednesday.
The first-class independent component city has a better financial standing than the six other cities in the region, based on their audited financial statements, Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez said.
Gomez attributed the city’s good performance to her husband, Rep. Richard Gomez, the former mayor, local government employees, and 110 village chiefs in the city.
“This is a chance for us to pause, just for a short while, to look back and see how far we have come from last year. It is a time for us to check on our dreams and aspirations, to see what we have done so far to get to where we want to go,” she said during her State of the City Address.
Ormoc’s assets rose by 9.37 percent to PHP7.47 billion in 2022 from PHP6.83 billion in 2021, according to the annual report recently released by the Commission on Audit.
The assets consist of PHP2.37 billion cash; PHP222.01 million receivables; PHP180.39 million inventories; PHP99.01 million prepayments and deferred charges; PHP8.51 million investment property; PHP4.58 billion properties, plant, and equipment; PHP3.36 million biological assets; and PHP3.41 million intangible assets.
Next to Ormoc in terms of assets are Calbayog City in Samar with PHP5.71 billion; Baybay City in Leyte with PHP5.28 billion; Tacloban City with PHP4.72 billion; Maasin City in Southern Leyte with PHP4.09 billion; Borongan City in Eastern Samar with PHP3.03 billion; and Catbalogan City in Samar with PHP2.01 billion.
“Our success today would not have been so, without the efficient, well-managed LGU that I took over from Mayor Richard. Indeed, it is easier to reach for the skies when standing on someone’s strong shoulders. His task was not easy, building from almost ground zero, but he fought bravely and was rewarded,” she added.
Ormoc City, the economic hub of the western part of Leyte, is known for Lake Danao, which supplies water to many parts of Leyte, including Tacloban City, and its sweet pineapple.
The city is also known for its 232-megawatt geothermal power plant, the largest in the world under one roof. Its generated power benefits Leyte Island and parts of Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. (PNA)
