MISAMIS Oriental Governor Yevgeny Emano is seeking the help of President Rodrigo Duterte for the collection of about P700 million in real property taxes from Pilipinas Kao Inc. (PKI).
Emano said Monday, June 25, that he would ask help from the President so the provincial government can collect the supposedly unpaid real property taxes (RPT) of PKI.
PKI is a company that supplies high quality and biodegradable chemical products made from coconut oil in both local and international markets.
PKI operates a plant in Jasaan town Misamis Oriental, inside an area that was declared by the government as an economic zone in 2001.
Emano said the Provincial Government could have used the taxes for infrastructure projects, procurement of medicines and other basic services had the company diligently paid its obligation.
Emano said the Provincial Government has won its case against PKI and was allowed to collect the RPT.
The Ombudsman had earlier suspended the Capitol's then treasurer Marilou Rivera for oppression and neglect of duty for the issuance of warrants of garnishment against PKI in 2014.
Based on the Ombudsman's probe, the provincial government had assessed the company's unpaid RPT for 11 years from 2002 to 2013 in the total amount of P631.5 million.
The firm had maintained that it was exempted from paying local taxes, including RPT, since it is covered by the Special Economic Zone Act.
The capitol, however, refuted that tax exemptions have to be applied for those investing in the country under the PEZA jurisdiction.
Rivera asserted that PKI failed to comply with the section 206 of the local government code which requires it to submit documentary evidence to the provincial assessor to establish which tax-exempt properties should be dropped from the assessment roll.
Rivera said there was no endorsement from the provincial assessor regarding PKI's exemption from RPT which prompted her to collect taxes and revenues as part of her ministerial mandate and her issuance of warrants of levy and garnishment is lawful.
"Nidago mi sa kaso. Gitugotan mi nga mag-kolekta. Kung dili sila mobayad manawagan mi sa Presidente nga matabangan mi (We won the case and we have been allowed to collect the taxes. If they will not pay, then we would ask the President to help us)," Emano said.