Friday, January 18, 2008 City Hall ad ‘to promote transparency’
PLACING an advertisement showing the Cebu City Government’s income was meant to inform constituents that taxes were collected, according to Mayor Tomas Osmeña.
So he said he doesn’t understand what Rep. Pablo John Garcia (Cebu, 3rd district) meant when the latter said the ads showed the mayor’s “deep-seated insecurity” and desire for the City to be better than the Capitol.
“Why is it insecurity? He’s very intelligent but I don’t understand him. They’re the ones saying that their income is very big. It’s a matter of public interest to disclose to the people of Cebu that this is what we have collected,” he told reporters yesterday, when asked to react to Garcia’s statements.
In his news conference, Osmeña said Cebu City residents have to know that City Hall collects taxes from everyone, and not just some business establishments and real property owners.
Garcia has said that the City may be able to collect taxes “but it can’t pay its bills and change its light bulbs.” He also pointed out that one-fourth of the taxes the City collects goes to the loan payment for the South Road Properties (SRP).
“Yes, we have debts but that is not the point here. The point is that they’re saying their income is so big, but our income is bigger. Our debt is another discussion. They’re saying we have busted lights. Of course they have fewer busted lights, because they don’t have lights,” Osmeña said.
The mayor has placed a full-page advertisement that declared: “We don’t claim that we’re No. 1, yet the figures show that we are!”
Comparative figures are presented, with Cebu City besting the Province and the cities of Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu, Talisay, Danao and Toledo in combined collection of real property and business taxes plus other local income for 2005 and 2006.
According to the ad, Cebu City posted a two-year tax collection of P3.212 billion compared to the Province’s P1.605 billion.
Osmeña said the congressman, also the brother and former consultant of Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, can say anything he wants. But the mayor said Garcia shares a thing in common with his and the City’s other critics.
“Why do they live in Cebu City? I’m just asking since they all think Cebu City is so bad, di ba?” he said. (LCR)
