NEARLY P1 billion has been added into the assets of the Cebu Provincial Government after it acquired a 64-hectare lot in Barangay Uling, Naga City from its owner who failed to pay the real property tax.

The property’s value boosted the Province’s total assets of more than P200 billion.

The Capitol also identified the property as the site of its waste-to-energy project, which it plans to construct through a build, transfer and operate partnership with private firms.

Provincial Treasurer Roy Salubre announced the Capitol’s real estate acquisition on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020.

In 2007, the provincial government auctioned off the lot after its owner, Leopolda Cecilio, failed to pay P11 million in real estate property tax.

Cecilio was given a year to redeem the property by paying her dues, but she failed to do so.

The property in Uling, an upland village in Naga City, is an addition to the provincial government’s growing resources.

Based on the financial statement released by the Commission on Audit, the Province had a total assets of P34.5 billion in 2018, and the state auditors hailed Cebu as the richest among 81 provinces in the country for that year.

Retrieving its properties in Cebu City and receiving a building in the Cebu IT Park from its private partner in Build, Transfer and Operate scheme in 2019, the provincial government grew further its assets.

By Dec. 31, 2019, the Province’s total assets grew to P202 billion after the reappraisal of its properties. (ANV/KAL)