Tagbilaran councilors stripped of committee seats

TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines — Three Tagbilaran City councilors lost their respective committee membership and chairmanship, during the special session earlier this week.

This came after the City Council approved Councilor Adam Relson Jala’s proposal to revamp committee compositions, but some councilors said it was due to their opposition against measures granting tax exemption to some business establishments located at the city’s Dao-Dampas commercial area.

The move affected the chairmanships of  Councilors Augustinus Gonzaga, Jonas Camacho and Greggy Gatal.

Vice-Mayor Jose Antonio “Toto” Veloso, who presided the session, confirmed the committee revamp by what is now the majority, but he described Jala’s contention of “sentiments of the majority” as a flimsy reason for the committee revamp.

Both camps refused to call themselves, either majority or minority. But the latter is emerging after opposing the tax holiday measure that need to be repealed, as recommended by the Commssion on Audit (COA).

Gonzaga said the revamp of the committee started when raging issue over the proposed amendment of the COA-questioned city ordinances granting tax exemptions to businesses within the satellite market and bus terminal areas. He said the issue on COA-recommended amendment to the tax measures, however are still to be tackled by the coming sessions.

The COA findings stated that the city government is deprived of revenues in terms of real property tax (RPT) amounting to P68 million due to the implementation of the tax exemptions provided for by two city tax ordinances, Gonzaga argued.

Gonzaga said that the amount (P68 million ICM-ASC owes to city government until 2013 only) is a big loss to city government if the tax exemption on real property tax (RPT) continues.

“Granting of real property and business tax condonation and real property and business tax exemptions per Ordinance Nos. IIC-002 and IIC-003 have no legal basis, thereby, casting doubt on the legality and propriety of the tax exemption,” COA said in its annual audit report.

COA, in its report (ending December 31, 2015) — sent to the mayor on June 27, 2016 by COA-Region 7 Director Alicia Malquisto — described the tax exemption as “unjust and inequitable to other business located in the area” of investment situated in Barangays Dao and Dampas where the satellite city market is located.

COA further said: “Granting of tax exemption beyond a period of 12 months is bereft of any legal basis, thereby casting doubt on the legality and propriety of tax incentives” based on those ordinances. (FREEMAN)