Cebu water district to City: Grant us time

CEBU CITY -- Metro Cebu’s water distributor wants to get back its properties that have already been forfeited in favor of the Cebu City Government because of a P69.5-million tax delinquency.

The Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD), through General Manager Armando Paredes, recently wrote Vice Mayor Joy Augustus Young to ask the City to extend the redemption period of their forfeited properties.

It was on June 28 when the City issued a Declaration of Forfeiture for the properties of MCWD in Buhisan and Tisa because of its failure to pay P69,561,954.35 in real property taxes, including interest and other charges.

The one-year redemption period lapsed the day before.

“In view of the expiry of the one-year redemption period, MCWD requests this honorable office to grant an extension since the subject properties are being verified and surveyed jointly by MCWD and the City Assessor’s Office,” Paredes said in his letter.

The water utility firm, with the help of the assessor’s office, wants to verify and survey their lots, saying there is an ambiguity in the amount of the real property tax assessed by the City.

MCWD, in a resolution attached to the letter, said that under the law, real property taxes should be assessed based only on actual or constructive possession.

Based on their initial survey, however, MCWD said only a portion of the properties forfeited were actually owned, used, and occupied by the water district.

“The rest are being claimed and occupied by others,” the firm added.

If the extension will be granted, MCWD said they will use the time to conduct a further survey and come up with a “more correct” and “acceptable” basis for the assessment of real property taxes.

In appealing for an extension, Paredes also pointed out that MCWD has been lenient in collecting the unpaid water bills of the City.

He said the City owes them some P82 million, including interest and penalties.

“For the interest of public service, MCWD humbly requests for the same favor by asking an extension within which to redeem the forfeited properties,” he said. (PDF/Sun.Star Cebu)