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Marikina has an outstanding debt of P3.6 billion, based on a 2023 report from the Bureau of Local Government Finance
MANILA, Philippines – Candidates in Marikina‘s local elections are banking on national government funding, pro-business policies, and improved tax collection to lift the city out of what they call a “debt trap.”
Marikina has an outstanding debt of P3.6 billion, based on a 2023 report from the Bureau of Local Government Finance. The loans were taken out for infrastructure projects, including road construction, street lighting, transportation, environmental initiatives, healthcare, housing, and school repairs.
With this level of debt and a P3.4-billion city budget for 2024, 2nd District Representative and mayoral candidate Stella Quimbo called the situation a “debt crisis.”
“When you have an outstanding debt that exceeds your annual budget, your debt service will eat up a big portion of your budget. That means basic services will suffer. This is the biggest challenge for the next mayor,” Quimbo, an economist, said on Saturday, January 25, during Rappler’s “Kape, Kandidato, Komunidad” election forum at Rustic Mornings by Isabelo Garden.
Her running mate, former mayor Del de Guzman, agreed that borrowing is not inherently bad but cautioned against excessive debt.
Quimbo estimated that the debt would be settled by the city by 2037.
Tapping national government funds
To address the city’s financial woes, Quimbo stressed the need to secure national government funding through the district representative’s office to fund local projects. Stella’s husband, Miro, is running to replace her in Congress. Miro is a former 2nd District representative of Marikina.
“The city by itself, hindi niya talaga kakayanin, especially kung ganito kalalim na yung utang niya,” Mr. Quimbo said. (The city alone can’t handle it, especially with this level of debt.)
Swapping positions among family members to maintain political leadership became a common practice in the Philippines after the 1987 Constitution set term limits to members of Congress. A 2024 report by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism found that at least 67 political dynasties have engaged in this strategy.
Under an executive order of former president Rodrigo Duterte, the responsibility for delivering basic services was supposed to be fully transferred from the national government to local governments by 2024. However, in 2023, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) recommended extending the transition to 2027.
Making Marikina business-friendly
Senator Koko Pimentel, who is running to represent Marikina’s 1st District, said that one of the major deterrents to investments in the city is flooding.
Mr. Quimbo, meanwhile, pointed out that many Marikina residents work in business process outsourcing (BPO) firms in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, but severe traffic congestion forces a number of them to spend 3.5 hours commuting each way. He proposed bringing BPO companies to Marikina to create jobs closer to home and improve residents’ quality of life.
Based on Department of Trade and Industry’s 2023 competitiveness index report, Marikina ranked 23rd out of the 33 highly urbanized cities in the Philippines.
To encourage compliance, Ms. Quimbo is also considering lowering business taxes to improve collection rates.
Transparency
She also pledged to cut bureaucratic red tape and bring back the livestreaming of city council sessions and procurement.
The last time a Marikina City Council session was livestreamed on its official Facebook page was June 24, 2019.
The Quimbos said that having a transparent government would encourage more investments.
Marikina 1st District Representative Maan Teodoro, who is also running for mayor, declined Rappler’s invitation to join the forum.
Her husband, incumbent Mayor Marcy Teodoro, was disqualified last December from running for the 1st District of Marikina after the Commission on Elections’ 1st Division found that he misrepresented his place of residence. Teodoro then filed an appeal.
According to Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia, the poll body’s en banc has not yet ruled on Mr. Teodoro’s motion for reconsideration regarding the Comelec 1st Division’s decision to disqualify him as a candidate in the 1st District.
Thus, the “2025 Ballot Face Templates” uploaded by Comelec still include the mayor’s name.
Rappler reached out to Comelec and the mayor on Tuesday, February 11, regarding the latter’s candidacy status but has yet to receive a response as of writing.
Mr. Teodoro and Pimentel were initially not supposed to battle for the 1st District seat after the Teodoros and Pimentel forged an alliance for the Marikina local district race. Pimentel said during the filing of certificate of candidacy last October that he and Teodoro had originally agreed that he would run in the 1st District, while Teodoro would vie for the 2nd. In October, however, Teodoro changed his mind and filed a Certificate of Candidacy for the 1st District. – Rappler.com
