CITY GOV’T OPEN TO STAGGERED PAYMENT

URDANETA CITY–Promises, promises.

Mayor Amadeo Perez, Jr. is starting to get impatient over the Pangasinan Electric Cooperative III’s  (PANELCO) failed assurances to pay some P25 million in overdue business and real property taxes.

Perez said the electric firm’s general manager promised early this year to look into the matter but no action has been taken since.

Other officials have similarly given their word to resolve the problem, the mayor said.

The unpaid taxes consist of P23 million in business tax and P2 million for real property tax covering the period 1998 up to 2005, prior to PANELCO’s conversion into a cooperative.

Interest charges on top of the P25 million total have yet to be computed.

Perez said the city government is ready to consider payment on an installment basis or an offsetting scheme through the city government’s monthly electricity bill.

Perez said he is actually tempted to stop paying their electric consumption dues until PANELCO acts on paying their debt.

Perez noted that when he assumed office in 2001, the city government owed PANELCO about P7 million, which he immediately ordered settled.

Had he known they have a much bigger receivable from PANELCO, he added, he would have immediately proposed an “offsetting scheme”.

Perez said he is hopeful that the recent promise by a top official of the Board of Directors that they will discuss this during their next meeting will be fulfilled.

If not, the mayor is ready to take legal action against the electric cooperative. #

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