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Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Computerized tax assessment, collection pushed
TO FACILITATE the processing of documents and improve the quality of services to the public, a board member of Benguet said Tuesday the Provincial Government should follow the global trend and adopt the information technology system in its transactions.
Board Member Aloysius Kato is pushing for the computerization program of the Provincial Assessor's Office (PAO) in the meantime.
Kato and other Capitol personnel proposed that the PAO adopt the Real Property Tax Information System (RPTIS), a software program developed by the Province of Bulacan, which is used in the assessment and collection of real property taxes.
He said the system is being offered for free to other local government units through a memorandum of agreement.
Kato is a member of the provincial team that recently visited Bulacan, primarily to be acquainted on the Information Technology (IT) systems now being implemented by the province for possible duplication in Benguet. Bulacan is the first province to use RPTIS in the assessment and collection of real property taxes.
He said adherence to the IT system could facilitate all transactions in the province.
The proposal to implement the PAO computerization was raised in an earlier meeting between the Provincial Board (PB) and Provincial Assessor Soriano Sambrano, who then requested the province's legislative body to allocate P5 million for the general revision on rates of real properties in the province.
Board Member Johnny Uy, during the meeting, asked if it would be possible to have the data at the PAO be first computerized to make revisions easy.
Sambrano said the program would entail huge amount of money, adding that his office should first be oriented on how to implement the program.
But Kato said the province might spend roughly around P100 million for the computerization program. He said personnel from the Provincial Government of Bulacan have expressed willingness to acquaint the staff of the assessor's office in Benguet on how RPTIS works.
The team also recommended to Governor Borromeo Melchor that an IT team from a pool of selected personnel from the Provincial Government be created to draft a master plan on the IT system since the province has not established an IT department yet.
It also suggested that IT funds available from different departments in the province should be pooled during the initial implementation of the project. Other departments were also encouraged to conduct learning visits to other agencies that adopted the IT system to appreciate the importance of information technology in delivering quality service to the public. (JC)
(May 24, 2006 issue)
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