THE Commission on Audit (COA) has recommended to former Bacolod City mayor now Lone District Rep. Evelio “Bing” Leonardia to justify the P340 per square meter purchase price for the Felisa Solid Waste Disposal facility, or a total amount of P23.8 million, following the COA’s notice of disallowance dated February 6, 2012 on the sale of land in Brgy. Felisa.
According to the COA, such cost was found to be excessive as per its Real Estate Inspection Report dated June 23, 2009 and COA Evaluation Report dated January 16, 2012 of the Management's Justification, relative to COA-TAS findings dated November 12, 2009, stated Ma. Ruby Belleza, state auditor and audit team leader, and Natividad Asentista, state auditor, officer-in-charge, supervising auditor, in their report to Leonardia.
When the city bought the property for P23.8 million to be used for its solid waste disposal facility, a partial payment of P20 million was made and a balance of P3.8 million was to be paid within one year from July 8, 2008, referring to the date of agreement.
As of August 20, 2009, the City Accountant had certified that the city has not paid the P3.8 million balance to Dynasty Agricultural Corporation.
The Technical Services office of COA had opined that based on the land use (highest and best use), analysis of market data, market value, and appraisal values, the appraised value of said lot should be P268.65 per square meter, the report indicated.
Residential or Agricultural?
rThe City Appraisal Committee cited the zonal valuation of the Bureau of Internal Revenue for lands in the area at P400 per square meter.
It further reduced the base value of P400 by 10 percent or P360 per square meter, considering the cost for filling and compaction to bring such land areas at par level with the adjoining normal lots, granting that that there is a need for the city to level it up.
The Appraisal Committee also issued Resolution No. 06, series of 2008, stating that the subject property with TCT Nos. T-266356 and T-266362 were classified as residential zone per certification issued by the City Planning and Development Office.
However, the real property taxes as declared and paid on July 15, 2008 disclosed the said lots were actually classified as agricultural and such lots were declared in the name and paid for a certain Nita Mapua, and not by the Dynasty Agricultural Corp.
Also, the Negotiated Procurement per Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) Resolution No. 420, series of 2008 dated June 20, 2008 was also carried at a residential price classification, despite the fact that the real property taxes on the said lots as declared are actually agricultural.
Thus, in this transaction, the city government of Bacolod was deprived of the tax payments that should have been paid for this property, if indeed it was residential as determined by the CPDO and the BAC, the COA said, adding that how the reclassification came about had not been traced to any document or committee reports of the city.
It further recommended the justification on why the lots were classified as residential zone per City Planning and Development Office certification, when the classification in the declaration of the real property taxes was agricultural.
The dumpsite facility cannot be accessed and be useful to the city except through the unappraised roads right of way, the COA added.
