Amnesty mulled for delinquent property owners
ONE more chance.
Mayor Belen Fernandez wants to give this to delinquent real property taxpayers through an amnesty program that will reduce their accountabilities to the city.
Fernandez has ordered City Administrator Farah Decano and Legal Officer George Mejia to prepare a draft ordinance to be submitted to the Sangguniang Panlungsod for an amnesty that would provide for the condonation of interest, penalties and surcharges, leaving just the principal tax amount to be paid.
The office of City Treasurer Romelita Alcantara is already set to hold by October a public auction on delinquent properties whose owners have not paid their real property taxes for several consecutive years.
Alcantara said she already sent notices of levy to these property owners which serves as warning of an impending auction.
But Fernandez wants to postpone the auction until after she talks personally to the concerned property owners in order to convince them to pay the due taxes even as she ordered Alcantara to report to her the list of properties proposed for auction plus the list of delinquent properties auctioned by the previous administration and the persons who bought these.
The mayor also said auctioning the properties goes against her promise to the people to help them own lands where they can build their houses.
She stressed that although the city is in dire need of cash, she will not rush into auctioning delinquent properties as it pains her to see property owners losing their lots where their houses are located, especially those who are hard-pressed for money.
“We know that they have no money to pay their taxes. What happens to them when we take away their lands where their houses were built? Where will they go now?” she said.
“I also understand that some properties were auctioned for just a few thousand pesos, which only represented the tax due, interest and penalties imposed on the owners when in fact these properties are valued at millions of pesos,” Fernandez said.
She cited the case of a 672 square meter lot in Barangay Tambac owned by the family of Flordeliz Sabolboro Soriano, who inherited it from their parents, which was auctioned in December 2010 for just P10,612 , representing just the taxes due to the city over a 12-year period.
The redemption period for auctioned property is only one year.
Another case was a lot in Bonuan Binloc which was auctioned for just less than P4,000.
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