REGIONAL Trial Court Judge Emma Torio has started hearing the civil case filed against the city government by University of Luzon (UL) over the assessment and payment of business taxes.

Representatives of the two sides met in the judge’s sala for the first time last week. The second meeting is yet to be set.

In an interview, UL president Mac Arthur Samson said he is waiting for other private schools, particularly Lyceum Northwestern University (LNU) headed by Atty. Gonzalo Duque, to file a similar legal action.

Duque, for his part, said LNU is prepared to do so and is just waiting for 15 days to lapse after the receipt of city hall of the university’s demand letter for a refund of business taxes paid since 2001, even before the city’s tax code under Ordinance No. 1855 was enacted in 2006.

Samson said UL and the other private schools in Dagupan including Ednas School, STI, Pangasinan Merchant Marine Academy, and the Pangasinan Institute of Marine Science and Technology (PIMSAT) are also preparing to send a similar demand letter to the city government.

Samson said the case of UL against the Dagupan City government represented by Mayor Benjamin Lim, City Administrator Vladimir Mata and City Treasurer Romelita Alcantara has been bolstered by confirmation of former Councilor Michael Fernandez, author of the tax code, that private schools were not intended to be taxed under Ordinance 1855.

Samson said UL is presenting Fernandez, whose wife Maybelyn is an incumbent councilor, as their witness against the defendants.

Lim, meanwhile, shrugged off the issue saying he will simply wait for the court to decide on the matter.

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