It is not only Catanduanes which was upgraded by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) as far as income classification is concerned.
Except for Virac and Pandan which remained as 1st and 4th towns, the rest of the 11 municipalities went up by one rank.
Now classified as 4th class from the previous 5th are Bagamanoc, Baras, Bato, Gigmoto, Panganiban and San Miguel.
Moving up to 2nd class are Caramoran and San Andres.
Pursuant to Republic Act 11964 institutionalizing the automatic income classification of provinces, cities and municipalities every three years, provinces are classified into five (5) classes according to their income ranges and based on the average annual regular income for three (3) fiscal years preceding a general income reclassification.
As the smallest province in Bicol as far as the economy, population and land area are concerned, Catanduanes remains the only 2nd class province with an average annual regular income between P900 million to less than P1.5 billion.
All the other five provinces are 1st class, with an average annual income of P1.5 billion of more.
On the other hand, the average annual income ranges per class among municipalities are as follows: 1st class – P200 million or more; 2nd class – P160 million to less than P200 million; 3rd class – P130 million to less than P160 million; 4th class – P90 million to less than P130 million; and 5th class – P90 million.
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Under Resolution No. 11086, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has mandated the immediate removal of all prohibited forms of election propaganda, either by the candidate or party, at least 72 hours before the start of the campaign period for the 2025 midterm elections which begins on March 28, 2025 for members of the House of Representatives and elective provincial, city and municipal officials.
The prohibited forms of propaganda include any names, images, logos, brands, insignias, initials, and other forms of identifiable graphical representations on any public structures or places, including motor vehicles owned by LGUs, GOCCs and the national government.
This means that the tarpaulin signs installed on private property such as lots and buildings are not covered by the prohibition, along with those installed on public transport vehicles which are not owned by the government.
“Within five (5) days after the May 12, 2025 elections and without need of notice, the candidates shall remove or cause to remove all their election propaganda at their expense or for whose apparent benefit the election propaganda materials have been produced, displayed, and disseminated,” the resolution states.
The other significant new guidelines include the encouragement to use environment-friendly and recyclable materials for their campaign paraphernalia, with the phrase “This material should be recycled or disposed of responsibly” in the materials.
It also warned candidates against disregarding intellectual property rights in their campaign activities, including the use of music and slogans as well as merchandise that can be viewed as copyright infringement due to lack of permit or consent from the owners.
Violators will be referred to the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines for proper action, the Comelec said.
All bets are forewarned.
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THE FUTURE SON-IN-LAW. The prospective son-in-law was asked by his girlfriend’s father, “Son, can you support a family?”
“Well, no, sir,” he replied. “I was just planning to support your daughter. The rest of you have to fend for yourselves.”