Friday, August 13, 2004 Taxpayers taunt tax collectors: ‘I-remit ha?’ By Gingging A. Campaña Sun.Star Staff Reporter
WITH the disappearance of a collector, other collectors at the Cebu City Treasurer’s Office lamented that taxpayers are dragging them into the cash mess.
Most collectors sitting at the counters and some field collectors at the Cebu City’s public markets said they have been affected by the Rebecca Mahusay case.
A collector who asked not to be named said that she was shocked when a taxpayer who lined up at one of the windows told her, “I-remit na ninyo ha? Basig idagan na ninyo! (Make sure you remit may payment okay? Don’t run away with it.)”
Another cashier was also told by a taxpayer to make sure that she surrendered the official receipts to the liquidating officers.
“Wa gud ko katingog kay nainsulto ko. Nagtuo na gyud intawn ang mga taxpayers nga parehas mi ni Vicky. Sakit kaayo manulti ang mga taxpayers uy. Pero unsaon man, dili man ta makatubag-tubag nila (I was so stunned by the insult that I was speechless. Taxpayers think we’re all like Vicky. But we can’t talk back to them),” she said.
Mahusay’s supervisors said they spent sleepless nights and lost their appetite when they started suspecting that the collector will no longer appear and return the missing 98 receipts, as well as P187,707 in miscellaneous fees.
“This is very sad for those who have never experienced a controversy,” a collector said.
Although her husband Federico Mahusay Sr. has said Rebecca has left, some of her co-workers believe that she is still in Cebu City.
Evangeline Flores, who takes charge of leaves in the administrative division, said Rebecca got her P6,189 salary for July through the automated teller machine. She was still on the payroll based on an approved application for a two-month sick leave, backed by a medical certificate.
By Aug. 1, Rebecca was already considered absent without leave because she never returned to extend her leave. GAC
(August 13, 2004 issue) Write letter to the editor.Click here. Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here.
