Pagadian City secures 40th spot of wealthiest cities in the Philippines

BY Gideon C. Corgue

PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur, Dec. 15 - Mayor Samuel Co was delighted to know that the city of Pagadian has secured the 40th spot in the list of the wealthiest cities in the Philippines according to the Commission on Audit (COA's) Annual Financial Report for LGUs 2023 out of 149 Cities (HUCs, ICCs, and Component Cities).

(File photo)

Co said that the people of Pagadian City are proud that Pagadian was ranked as one of the richest cities in the Philippines.

"The people of Pagadian City are very proud and happy because for the longest time it has not been classified as a first class component city, it has only been in the 2nd class city," Co explained

"Indeed, this good news is a Christmas gift given from the Almighty to the city of Pagadian. Thus, we are very grateful to Him.

In the same vein, the local chief executive said that during his tenure as mayor in 2004, the city of Pagadian ranked only No. 87 from the 118th cities in the Philippines. But the city government didn't lose hope, it kept trying until it has met the criteria set by the Department of Finance (DoF)

The  criteria for first class city are as follows: population of at least 200,000 inhabitants, annual income of at least P100-M, and area of a contiguous territory of 100 square kilometers.

Co said that the Pagadian city has an annual income of over P100-M and presently it has 4000,000 inhabitants which exceeded the criteria.

Co added that the key factors that have contributed to the rise of Pagadian City are the improved infrastructure including the construction of buildings in the regional center, 2) providing tax incentives to big investors and 3) the benefits of having more people that visit the city. (jcc/The Pagadian Times)