Deliberate and maliciou BY Oscar Cinco on Monday, June 14, 2010 at 2:36pm
This is how incoming Marikina executives described the recent council resolutions passed right after allies of the incumbent administration of Marides Fernando lost in the elections.
“It is plain and simple politics designed to protect their own interests while crippling the incoming officials with less revenue for much needed social services,” newly-elected Marikina Vice Mayor Fabian Cadiz revealed yesterday.
Marikina is expected to experience financial difficulties after incumbent councilors, many of whom lost in the May elections, approved several highly controversial resolutions designed to make them look good among residents while striking a blow to the revenue stream of the incoming administration of Mayor Del de Guzman.
The controversial resolutions are the 50% discount in real property taxes from 2010 to 2013, the tax holiday given to five favored investors, and the 50% discount in garbage fees.
Cadiz also complained about several midnight initiatives undertaken to spend money unnecessarily. This includes the purchase of a parcel of land in a flood-prone area for P74 million, the interest-free loans offered to city employees, and the questionable use of calamity funds.
A barangay captain identified with the present administration expressed disappointment and frustration over recent developments that cut their budget in half. These, they say, are much needed funds for basic services and wages.
“This will mean a substantial reduction in services to the common residents of Marikina. Besides, where will we get the money to pay our people?” she asked.
Even residents can see through the charade because they say it so unnatural and out of character for a city government known for being strict and unforgiving in tax collection to suddenly reward its residents with such a going-away present out of the goodness of their hearts.
It is more out of spite and desperation that they wisely maneuver to make the incoming officials look bad, says Ed Ayala of Concepcion Uno, adding that, “they should be man enough to accept the people’s will.”
Cadiz said the present 18-member city council has extended the 50 percent real property tax discount to all city residents which will result to a loss of P300 million in annual income to the city government.
The real property tax discount resolution is supposed to lapse at the end of this month but was extended after the May elections until the end of 2013 after incumbent Vice Mayor Marion Andres, a protégée of Fernando, lost to De Guzman by a wide margin.
“The incoming administration will be handicapped because P300 million annual income will be lost plus we will be paying interest to the outstanding bank loans of the city,” said the vice mayor, who is a physician by profession.
Allies of De Guzman also complained about the ‘tax holiday’ given, also after the May elections, by the Fernando administration to favored companies because this incentive should be for new and pioneering investors as a way of enticing them to locate in the city. They pointed out that the 5 companies mentioned in the resolution are present locators that are staying put and have no plans of leaving the city. So what is the merit in that, they ask. Sources say that potential loss in income from the tax holiday could reach about P100 million.
Meanwhile, the garbage fee being collected by the city government to the big establishments was also reduced by 50 percent, in another council resolution. The total annual income for the city from garbage fees could reach to about P60 million.
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