It is amusing to hear City Treasurer Lino Daral acting as a messenger of doom for the city when he declared that the city will be losing 50 million pesos due to the accreditation of Del Monte under the umbrella of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA). The council took a ride on the ominous declarations of Daral and made 180 degree turn. It then passed a resolution defying the tax exemptions granted to eco-zone facilities.
But who really cares? Does Lino Daral really care? Are the city folks really bothered by the situation? Nobody seems to respond to such a call to support our city to earn more revenue except Licayan and his cohorts kowtowing to Mayor Tinnex.
True enough, if we look closely into our national as well as the local tax system, we would know it is a reflection of the values of those in power. Our tax system is heavily influenced by our politicians and our people are left always in a quandary why they are imposed with so much tax burdens and yet, no substantial projects come back to them.
When it comes to projects, how are our taxes being utilized? A cursory look at the ZTE deal through the testimonies of various witnesses at the Senate gives us a glimpse of where our taxes go. It showed that about 2/3 of our taxes is pocketed by our politicians through high handed methods.
The scheme is not difficult to understand. The government would enter into an agreement to implement a project, the payment of which would be borrowed from a financial entity. The project will be priced so highly, say at $360,000,000, like the ZTE deal, the true project cost of which is only $130,000,000. Meaning, $230,000,000 will go to the pockets of the politicians and their conspirators while we end up paying the loan and its interests through our taxes.
Our city is a miniature example and even a travesty of the big deals in the national government. So many times, Zaldy Ocon would broadcast over the radio on how the city would borrow money to buy very expensive lands, a big chunk of the money borrowed would go to the pockets of our local leaders. Then we pay Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) from where we borrowed the money through our local taxes. Such happened to our “piso-piso” projects in Calaanan and some other parts of the city which were declared to be anomalous, irregular and violative of the graft and corrupt practices act by the COA Special Audit Team.
Our local leaders also borrowed hundreds of millions from Land Bank for the construction of a public market in Bulua which was also found to have been grossly overpriced together with the road in Taguanao and a bridge near the desecrated Huluga Heritage Site. We and our children will be paying for such loans through our taxes. Deep inside, we know where the bigger portions of the money went.
Curiously, interviews with some executives in Del Monte revealed that the taxes they are paying yearly is less than 50 million pesos. How could our city lose 50 million when the company will not stop paying taxes other than those exempted through the PEZA?
The PEZA was designed to industrialize the country, for more jobs and expansion of capital investments. Instead of paying direct taxes, the PEZA accredited company is supposed to share 5% of its income, 2% of which will go directly to the local government. Simply said, if Del Monte will earn more profits this year, it will share 2% of its profits which may spell out millions of pesos for Cagayan de Oro. How then could the city lose?
There is a need for Lino Daral and some of our Kagawads to revisit the noble intentions of PEZA law before jumping into conclusions.
When the city council took back its endorsement through the Kagawads, did this resolution invalidate the PEZA accreditation granted by no less than the President of the Republic herself? Isn’t this accreditation a fait accompli or an accomplished fact and therefore, irreversible?
In the end, more taxes for the city or less, we the citizens end up the losers just the same. So, who really cares? At the rate the BIR is filing cases on the alleged violations of taxpayers, taxation is now considered a power to destroy and not a manner of redistribution of our wealth. Duh!
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