My appointment as barangay treasurer

I am new in HubPages...and I'm still relatively new to my appointment as being a treasurer in our barangay. With the rumors of extending the term of service of the incumbent barangay officials here in the Philippines, I'm sure the barangay captain will urge me to extend my service as his appointee. You see, in our country, my term is co-terminus with the head of the barangay who appointed me.

I have a dilemna in accepting the position because it involves money. Money matters in every transaction in every institution, like the barangay as the smallest unit of the local government unit (LGU) in the Philippine government. Maybe, along the way, I will use the money in my personal gain due to some unavoidable circumstances, involving financial needs of my family.

I am doing this because, I'm a single mom. I had a daughter who's in high school and I am in dire need to have an additional income for her projects and other payments, including weekly allowances (fare, food, etc.). I hope, I'm not boring you with my narrative hub here.

Being a neophyte in public service in the government, the municipal accountant in our town oriented all treasurers after the barangay elections, three years ago (2007). As if I am grasping in the dark because of the many workloads assigned on me.

1. Collect community tax through the community certificate or cedula personal being issued to all individuals, 18 years-above. I have a list of corresponding tax percentage issued according the resident, male or female, whether they're students, workers, or jobless ones in the barangay.
2. Submit the different allocations of the barangay appropriations with the help of barangay councilor who's serving as chairman for appropriations.
3. Collect barangay clearance taxes, including outgoing taxes for livestocks (as in carabao, cows, etc.)
4. Make a monthly payroll voucher and cheques for the barangay officials, barangay tanods or guards, lupon or advisers and barangay health workers.
5. Post project bidding, product procurement, etc. at PhilGEPS. (Right now, I have difficulty posting our projects because our SK chairman forgot the appropriate password). If you''re like me, you can also post questions or queries on the Forum Post site of PhilGEPS for clarifying government projects.

Aside from the rigorous work of a treasurer, the perks we receive or pa-consuelo de bobo are attending Treasurers' conference, be it regional or national or parties sponsored by LGUs or non-government organizations (NGOs).

The bottomline of my service is more revenue, more budget allocation for next year.

 Treasurers in the United States of America (USA) have more important functions when compared to treasurers from Third World countries, like the Philippines. I admit, they're more organized than here in the locality.

The role of treasurer is clearly identified and the transparency in the government is immediately feedback to the people in the county, district or state.

Most of the Treasury laws in the country are patterned in America. I think,  there's no harm in admiring their activities and model our own from them.

In result, neighboring Asian countries, like Indonesia,  are observing the procurement and bidding procedures in the local government units (LGU), including the barangay level.