THE Dagupan City government has finally began the long and tedious process of cancelling Tax Declarations (TDs) obtained by several persons, mostly affluent and influential, over parcels of land in the foreshore land of Bonuan over the years.

City Legal Officer George Mejia, who has been designated by Mayor Alipio Fernandez Jr. as concurrent acting City Assessor effective June 10, said there were 129 TDs issued by the City Assessor’s Office to different individuals over the years that the present administration is seeking to cancel.

Mejia replaced City Assessor Virginia Deocares, now on leave and had left for the United States, who appeared reluctant to implement Executive Order No.66, Series of 2007 issued by Fernandez in December last year.

In his letter to all TD holders dated June 23, 2008, Mejia enjoined the parties to submit within 15 days their proofs and or evidence of ownership of the parcels of land in the foreshore areas from Bonuan Gueset to Bonuan Binloc.

He noted that many of the parties have already submitted letters of response with attachments of their sketch plans of the property from the Bureau of Lands, affidavits of the parties stating that they had been in continuous possession of the property, a certification of the barangay chairman and certificate of alienability and disposability issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Mejia pointed out that these same documents were used by parties to secure tax declarations fromthe City Assessor’s Office.

He said his office would be constrained to immediately cancel the tax declarations of those who fail to submit the required documents within the prescribed 15 day period.

Maintaining that tax declaration is not proof of ownership of property but merely proof of payment of tax, Mejia observed that the TDs are being used by the holders to claim portions of the foreshore land where they intend to build recreation and or vacation houses.

“Public lands are not proper objects of taxation,” Mejia said, adding that he will move for the cancellation of the TDs after the lapse of 15 days.

He revealed he is anticipating the parties to seek court injunction to prevent the city from cancelling their tax declarations.

However, he said he is ready to defend the action of the city in any venue and the administration is prepared for a protracted court battle as the claimants are expected to put up a fight.

“We will wait for the action of these people on or before the 15 day period. But to me, this is easy because there is only one issue involved,” he said.

Mejia said since the foreshore land is owned by the state with the city as overseer, the city government will soon ask the court to declare the tax declarations issued to different individuals as null and void.

“They might contest the cancellation in court. But what is important is we have already started the process,” he said.

At the same time, Mejia announced that the civil case filed by Calasiao Mayor Roy Macanlalay and three other occupants of the foreshore land in Bonuan Binloc against the city’s Task Force on Housing Urban Resettlement has been withdrawn by the complainants.

The case was never re-filed by the parties again, contrary to reports that it was withdrawn by the complainants in order to amend it by substituting the name of the respondent task force with that of the Dagupan City government.—LM

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