Elevator fare

It has gotten so that in our otherwise idyllic place in Mandaluyong the residents have suddenly become sheepish about riding the elevators, mainly because the misnomer homeowners’ association (actually more like a managers’ association) has for the past months been levying a special assessment fee for elevator rehabilitation, on top of the monthly association dues that have also been adjusted of late, as well as parking dues in an area that occasionally has septic pipes bursting and flooding the parking lot with matter smelling like a circle of hell.

Yes, that’s the sad story, ma’am, sir, such that the real homeowners’ lawyer, Anna Mirabel Santiago, has already written two letters to the administrators of the San Francisco Gardens Condominium Association, aka SFG Condom Ass, located along Boni Avenue, protesting the “doubtful, inappropriate, unjustified and excessive assessments.”

The letters, ma’am, sir, dated March 2, 2010 and May 13 2010, were addressed to the Condom Ass president and the property administrator, and though the complaints are valid and the protest backed by an obvious majority of the real homeowners who were copy furnished and already reeling from inflation, VAT, tuition, back estate real taxes charged by the city government golpe de gulat style after eight years (this is another story), the managers association did not so much as give our lawyer the dignity of a reply. Perhaps they are consulting with their own lawyers?

Attorney Santiago pointed out that the charges levied by SFG on the homeowners amounted to an 85.4 percent increase in the monthly dues, raising questions on the “legality and reasonableness of (the) charges that must be addressed” because unjustified.

In sum, our lawyer has asked why the SFG administration included charges for preventive maintenance when the same has for the past seven years been part of the regular association dues, as per Section 13 (a) (1) of the SFG Master Deed with Declaration of Restrictions.

Also, ma’am, sir, she said a special assessment for elevator rehabilitation is unauthorized under Section 13 (a) (4) of the same master deed.

Other points our lawyer raised:

A non-VAT entity like the SFG Condom Ass may in fact be violating tax and criminal laws when it charges value-added tax on the total amount of the special assessment.

There was no prior consultation with a majority of homeowners before the levying of non-essential expenses such as renovation of elevator interior and installation of CCTV camera included in the special assessment, whose consent is required under Section 27, Presidential Decree 957, as amended by PD 1216.

The special assessment for elevator rehab, ma’am, sir, was “misleading” as it included “monthly service fee and load testing” customarily included in the monthly dues.

Lastly, attorney Santiago wondered how a supposedly non-profit entity like the SFG Condom Ass can charge a “speculative” amount of 10 percent of the total assessments “for imagined additional parts and possible increase of cost” for our elevators.

In the past year, residents have been asked to shell out almost double what we were previously paying for living in our normally restful abode, ma’am, sir.

The worse of it is that the Condom Ass is now charging penalties for the nonpayment of these not so special assessments even as quality of air still sometimes reeks of poso negro and our own unit once had a concrete slab of window ledge fall off, too bad not on the heads of managers of the condominium developers.

Homeowners are mulling whether to take the elevator only on special occasions, such as when transporting groceries and baggage, or to provide comfort to the arthritic, geriatric and handicapped. We also cannot help but wonder who won the contract for providing the CCTV cameras and interior renovation, as it seems to have passed without bidding, and reminds us of another racket not too long ago in the same place of residence when some operators tried requiring each homeowner to purchase a fire extinguisher.

Such has been the sad state of affairs in our Boni Avenue digs, so that we have resolved to at least take the stairs more often, the better to build stamina and resistance to what could be a long legal battle ahead, after which shadow commentaries like this would be considered sub judice: the faces you make before the CCTV cameras can and may be used against you. There have been two suicides in our complex in the past years, though this was before the charging by the Condom Ass of the excessive elevator fare, ma’am, sir. It should also be duly noted by all those present that prior to the elaborate rehab, there have been stories about the elevators causing traumatic experience for both adults and children such as getting stuck between floors.