MRT owes Mandaluyong P1 billion in taxes

The management of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) owes Mandaluyong City a staggering debt of P1 billion in real property and revenue taxes, Mandaluyong Rep. Benjamin "Benhur" Abalos Jr. said yesterday.

Abalos vowed to spearhead efforts to collect the huge amount from the MRT management to help boost the city coffers since Mandaluyong Mayor Neptali Gonzales announced recently that he will not raise property taxes during his term.

Abalos said he will persuade fellow congressmen, whose cities host portions of the MRT line, to form a group that would negotiate and oversee the payment of the firm’s overdue debts to local government units (LGUs).

"Local executives and legislators, particularly from the cities of Pasay, Makati, Mandaluyong and Quezon City, should come together, not only for the purpose of building a strong lobby group, but to establish a forum where issues and concerns regarding the MRT operation could be discussed," Abalos explained.

Acknowledging the importance of the MRT to Metro Manila commuters, Abalos said the group needs to come out with a formula that would be beneficial to concerned LGUs but would not be disastrous to the viability of the MRT operations.

He explained that the uncollected debt is always forecast in the city’s annual collection target on real property taxes. And because of the MRT’s apparent lack of interest in settling its obligation with the cities hosting railway stations, the debt is posted yearly as a shortfall in real property tax collection.

Abalos was Mandaluyong City’s mayor for two consecutive terms but in the last elections he won as the city’s new representative in Congress.