CEBU, Philippines – Mayor Michael Rama has approved resolutions from the City Council exempting urban poor families in Barangays Camputhaw and Apas from payment of transfer tax.
The urban poor families are beneficiaries of the controversial Provincial Ordinance 93-1.
Councilor Alvin Dizon, the proponent of the ordinance, said exempting the residents from transfer tax is one way to help the families cope up with the economic crisis.
The city government requires a transfer tax payment before the name of a title or a property can be transferred to another person's or entity's name. The amount of payment var-ies depending on the size of the property.
The Province of Cebu owns several parcels of lands situated in 11 barangays in Cebu City and these properties are occupied by city residents for many years.
During the stint of then governor Vicente dela Cerna, the Provincial Board enacted Provincial Ordinance 93-1 allowing the occupants of the province-owned lots to buy the lots that they are occupying and further allowed them to pay the province within five years on a staggered basis.
But because many still failed to fulfill their obligations after five years, the provincial government extended the term of payment to another five years.
Despite the extension, however, more than 2,000 of the 5,000 urban poor families still failed to fully pay for their lots, which prompted Governor Gwendolyn Garcia to threaten to take back the lots.
Then mayor Tomas Osmeña offered to swap the province-owned properties with properties of the city at the North Reclamation Area to ensure that the urban poor families would not be relocated, but the deal was foiled after a misunderstanding between Garcia and Rama who was vice mayor at that time. (FREEMAN)