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Thursday, February 05, 2004
Fishport authority owes city P64-M
By Aquiles Zonio
* Unpaid real property taxes date back to 1999 when fishport complex started operation
THE City Government is asking officials of the General Santos Fish Port to find ways to settle the more than P63 million arrears in real property tax to avoid possible closure.
Mayor Pedro Acharon Jr. said Tuesday that the fish port management failed to pay its obligation to the city since it started operation in 1999.
"I am asking them (fish port officials) to take advantage of the tax amnesty being extended by the City Government to all delinquent real property owners," Acharon said.
The City Council recently passed Ordinance no. 29 granting tax reprieve on all delinquent real property owners, business operators and market stall occupants in an effort to boost the City's revenue collection.
The City Government is intensifying its tax collection hoping to generate around P100 million revenues out of this scheme.
The tax amnesty took effect last January 5 and will end in December this year.
By passing the said ordinance, the City Government practically condoned penalties, interests and surcharges on all real property taxes, business taxes and market stall rentals accrued as of December 31, 2003 and prior years.
In December, the City Treasurer's Office subjected to public auction all the assets of the facility, but the fish port officials managed to secure a temporary restraining order from the local court.
The local court set the hearing for injunction filed by the fish port management against the City Government.
In several media interviews, Ed Deysolong, fish port manager, said he just inherited the problem from his predecessors.
Deysolong said the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA), which owns and manages the facility, presumed the fish port is exempted from paying real property tax since the facility is owned by the government.
The fish port manager appealed for more consideration as the fish port could hardly afford to pay its obligations in full.
The city mayor admitted that there is an ongoing negotiation between the City Government and fish port officials to settle the problem.
Under Ordinance no. 29, delinquent property owners will be required to pay 25 percent of the basic back taxes or P100,000 whichever is lower.
The 32-hectare fish port complex, the country's most modern and second largest fish port, situated in Barangay Tambler, about 12 kilometers south of the city proper.
It was constructed through a P600-million funding assistance from the Japanese Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund.
About 300 metric tons of fish are being unloaded daily at the fish port.
Every month, 50 commercial fishing companies land about 8,500 metric tons (MT) of sashimi grade tuna, the leading export product of Socsksargen for years.
(February 5, 2004 issue)
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