Boundaries in place; Mabolo may claim taxes from NRA lots

CEBU, Philippines - Barangay Mabolo may now claim its share of realty taxes from establishments at the North Reclamation Area, including the SM City Cebu, the city’s top realty tax payer.

This after the City Planning and Development Office delineated the boundaries of the NRA among barangays Mabolo, Carreta and Tejero.

City Planning Officer Nigel Paul Villarete said barangay Mabolo has made its boundaries official through an ordinance passed by the City Council but those for barangays Carreta and Tejero are still on the process of approval.

Villarete said a memorandum has been issued to city assessor Eustaquio Cesa and Ofelia Oliva, officer-in-charge of the city treasurer’s office to put into effect the ordinance delineating the boundaries of barangay Mabolo.

Likewise, the memorandum asked the Management Information and Computer Services office to affect the changes in the maps.

The memorandum says the ordinance has rationalized and delineated the boundary of barangay Mabolo in relation to the standard national geographic and geodetic reference system of the Philippines with a technical description.

The boundary lines include “part of the NRA adjacent to and contiguous with the barangay and over which it has traditionally and continuously provided basic governmental services in the past.”

The assessor’s office and treasurer’s office were also requested to confirm all previous tax declarations of all lands located within the delineated area, including those areas “which are within the boundary of Mabolo but which were previously erroneously declared under different barangays.”

“Correspondingly, all computations as to the share of Barangay Mabolo of Real Property Taxes (RPT) shall have to be adjusted accordingly, pursuant to relevant provisions of the R.A. 9184, otherwise known as the 1991 Local Government Code of the Philippines,” the memorandum reads. — Ferliza C. Contratista/JMO (THE FREEMAN)