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Thursday, March 02, 2006
4 firms owe city government millions
By Danilo V. Adorador III
AT LEAST four giant fertilizer companies in Cagayan de Oro are presently doing business sans business permits, said Councilor Maryanne Enteria.
Enteria's inquiry into different government agencies confirmed that the business entities also failed to pay millions worth of taxes due to the local government.
Reacting to this disclosure, Councilor Simeon Licayan called on the appropriate government agencies to conduct investigations, saying the act of defying tax laws was not tolerable and should be punished.
"We have tax inspection units and apparently they failed to do their job," Licayan said.
"The city has been deprived of huge revenues and this is alarming," he added.
The City's Licensing and Permit Division did not find in its business register the names of Philippine Planters Consumers, Agrotech and Grain Traders and Consumers, while Farmix Fertilizer had secured a business permit in 2001 but has not renewed the same to date.
Records at the Bureau of Customs revealed that the four companies have been importing fertilizers in the last two years but had under-declared or had not declared profits at all.
She said the City Government might have been deprived of around P50 million in taxes in the last two years either due to the non-registration and non-declaration of total sales among the said companies.
The City Council has already formed a committee to investigate Enteria's expose.
The five man investigating team is composed of Edgar Cabanlas, Juan Sia, Ian Mark Nacaya, and Caesar Ian Acenas.
Spokespersons from the four respective companies were not immediately available for comment Wednesday.
Mayor Vicente Emano in a TV interview said a quarry firm is found operating in Cagayan de Oro without a permit and also owes City Hall millions of pesos in unpaid taxes.
The firm, whose name is being withheld until their side is heard on the matter, is also the subject of complaints from rural barangays.
(March 2, 2006 issue)
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