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Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Micame: Labogon abattoir emits foul smell
By Rel P. Micame
FOUL ODOR. Labogon, Mandaue City Barangay Captain Damaso Tumulak reported to this corner that the obnoxious odor emanating from the City’s abattoir in his barangay has become intolerable.
The barangay chief said the foul smell has reached his office at the barangay hall. He urged City Hall officials to do something about the obnoxious odor, which endangers the health of his constituents.
WASTE TREATMENT. The Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (EMB-DENR) should require the Mandaue City Government to secure an environmental compliance certificate (ECC). I’m sure City Hall will be required to put up a waste treatment facility to contain air pollution.
TAX DEAL. I wish to congratulate the officials of the Toledo City Government and Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. (ACMDC) for reaching a compromise settlement on the firm’s multi-million tax liability.
With the settlement, ACMDC will donate to the City Government parcels of land valued at more than P80 million for Toledo City’s sanitary landfill, government center and market. Atlas will settle its P20-million tax liability in cash and through shares of stock. In exchange, the Toledo City Government will cancel some of ACMDC’s tax declarations and transfer the other taxable items to the tax-exempt roll. However, the tax declarations from 1992-1994 which have been transferred to the tax-exempt roll will be reverted back to taxable upon resumption of the mining operations.
ACMDC, therefore, will resume its mining operations healthy and clean of tax obligations.
OBJECTION. The Cebu Bureau of Customs, however, objects to the resumption of ACMDC’s operation without settling the firm’s P800-million tax liability to the bureau. Customs District Collector Billy Bibit is slighted why ACMDC only settled its obligations with the Toledo City Government. Bibit said the Supreme Court has ordered ACMDC to pay its tax obligations to the BOC, including duties and taxes, surcharges and penalties. The High Tribunal’s ruling, which was issued in 1997, has become final and executory, he said.
“I warn Atlas officials that we will be forced to implement the order of the High Tribunal if they will ignore the Customs bureau,” Bibit said.
MARCOS DECREE. Bibit, however, will have to tangle with the brilliant lawyers of ACMDC who will invoke the decree issued by the late president Ferdinand Marcos. The decree exempted from payment of taxes the importation of ACMDC machineries, which were used in mining operations.
Lawyer Paul Alcarazen, chief of the Customs bonded warehouse, said the Marcos decree also provided that the imported machineries may be exported when no longer in use.
(December 15, 2004 issue)
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