Six provinces in the Cordillera region are welcoming the new year with a step up in income classification.
Effective January 2025, the provinces of Abra, Apayao, Ifugao, Kalinga, Benguet and Mountain Province will be one step higher in income classification as approved by the Department of Finance.
Currently, Abra, Apayao, and Ifugao are third-class provinces. Kalinga and Benguet are second-class provinces and Mountain Province is the region’s only fourth-class province.
In January, all six provinces will go up a rank of classification.
Income classification depends on a province’s annual revenue, with fourth-class indicating a revenue between P500 and P700 million, third-class being more than P700 million but less than P900 million, second-class between P900 million and P1.5 billion, and first-class being more than P1.5 billion.
The increase in classification shows that the region has seen economic gains all throughout, and comes with perks, such as more favorable review for receipt of statutory aid, financial grants and local government assistance, increased appropriation for the personal services of a local government unit, compensation adjustments for local government personnel, increased size of provincial and municipal councils, and other benefits.
