Council to tackle proposal to allow redemption of forfeited properties

CEBU, Philippines – The City Council is set to tackle the proposal of Councilors Jose Daluz and Hilario Davide III to allow delinquent taxpayers to redeem their properties despite of the lapse of the one-year redemption period.

Daluz and Davide made the proposal after many taxpayers reportedly approached them and sought their help to redeem the properties.

The two councilors, however, explained, the redemption privilege will not include those properties whose Transfer Certificates of Titles had been transferred to Cebu City. They said allowing owners to redeem forfeited properties would mean additional income to the city.

“In allowing the taxpayers to redeem their forfeited properties, the city could generate income from collection of overdue taxes plus the interest and surcharges in a relatively short time with proper diligent information dissemination,” Davide said.

Daluz, for his part, also explained the redemption privilege would allow the city to collect real property taxes from the auctioned properties, which stopped from the time the city forfeited the properties.

The law allows the sale of the forfeited properties through an auction to satisfy the owners’ tax obligation to the government, although the owners still have the chance to redeem their properties within a year from the date of sale.

The law provides that should no one buys the auctioned properties, the properties are sold to the local government unit conducting the auction. The sale will become final if the owners fail to redeem the property within the one year redemption period.

They said records of the city would show that among the properties auctioned by the city until 2007 are residential properties, which will reportedly increase the number of homeless families in the city once the city auctions the properties.

City Hall records further show there have been many real properties, including lands and buildings, that were auctioned by the city in the past several years after its owners failed to pay taxes. The titles, however, not been transferred under the city.

In one occasion, Mayor Tomas Osmeña said he was not satisfied by the performance of former acting treasurers Tessie Camarillo and Renee Empaces because of their alleged failure to transfer the titles of said properties under the city.

This year, the city changed its old policy and required those who will participate in the auction to pay the exact market value of the lot or building. – Rene U. Borromeo/JMO (THE FREEMAN)