SEVERAL property owners in Cebu City are still waiting for action on their petitions to nullify and correct real property tax assessments issued during an alleged override scheme involving the City Hall’s tax system.
In a letter dated July 29, 2025, Acting City Assessor Nova Batiller told the council that her office cannot process the requests without a directive from Mayor Nestor Archival. The requests involve assessments issued on March 19-May 8, 2024.
The petitions are tied to a 32-page report released May 21 by the City Legal Office (CLO), which alleged a pattern of “systemic fraud” involving the override functions of the AS400 system, a computerized platform used for tax assessments from 2022 to 2023.
According to the report, market values generated by the system were allegedly replaced with owner-declared figures at the behest of appointed City Hall officials, resulting in tax increases that, in some cases, exceeded 1,000 percent.
The override feature was reportedly introduced by former city administrator Collin Rosell and former local finance committee chairman Jerone Castillo during the administration of then-mayor Michael Rama.
Rosell allegedly instructed staff from the City Assessor’s Office (CAO) and the Management Information and Computer Services to implement the override, while Castillo facilitated the upgrade through local finance committee resolution 7 in August 2023. Rosell denied the allegations.
According to Batiller, many taxpayers were adversely affected by the override scheme. Citing the CLO’s findings, she said assessments made under the unauthorized system violated ordinances, adding that “an act contrary to law is void ab initio (from the beginning) and produces no legal effect.”
Batiller recommended legislative action from the council and coordination among the CAO and the City Treasurer’s Office to resolve the issue.
Prior to leaving office, then-mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia issued Executive Order 20 on June 25, seeking to void real property assessments linked to the override scheme. The council recognized the order during a regular session last July 22.
Archival, who assumed office on July 1, ordered a review of the possible criminal liabilities of those involved in bypassing the City’s automated tax computation system.
Rosell, in a statement, said the investigation amounted to “public persecution and misinformation.” / EHP