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The Philippine Star
December 18, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Ilocos Sur has officially unseated Bulacan as the country’s top revenue-earning province for 2024.
Bulacan has dropped to the second spot after consistently topping the list in past years.
The Commission on Audit (COA)’s 2024 annual financial report confirmed Ilocos Sur’s P9.721-billion revenue for the year, marking a 140.68-percent growth from P4.039 billion in 2023.
State auditors attributed Ilocos Sur’s revenue surge to the region’s main crop, tobacco.
Ilocos Sur, a major tobacco producer, received P6.901 billion from the tobacco excise tax fund last year.
Per Republic Act 7171, a portion of excise taxes from Virginia-type cigarettes must be allocated back to the producing provinces.
This year’s payment improved the province’s financial standing, allowing it to surpass Bulacan, which posted P8.811 billion.
Former Ilocos Sur governor Luis “Chavit” Singson, the person long associated with the authorship and passage of RA 7171, celebrated the milestone.
“I congratulate Ilocos Sur for topping the revenue list of all provinces in the country! This P9.721-billion success is the powerful and long-awaited result of RA 7171, providing much-needed funds directly to our tobacco-producing regions,” Singson said.
Direct flights sought
Meanwhile, Singson urged Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon to honor the promise of opening up Vigan Airport to commercial traffic.
“The money is here, now the challenge is to bring the tourists. I am now urging Secretary Dizon to make good on his promise that Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific should now be flying directly to Vigan Airport,” Singson said.
“We have Vigan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the status of the wealthiest province. Direct flights are the next critical step to generating more jobs, spurring investment and making Ilocos Sur truly progressive,” he added.
