Cebu City’s CTO failed to collect over P4B in real property taxes, says COA

File photo: A look at the Senior Citizen’s Park with the Cebu City Hall at the background. | CDN Digital photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — As of December 31, 2022, the Cebu City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) logged over P4 billion in real property taxes (RPTs) that have remained uncollected from delinquent property owners.

Government auditors said that the accumulated amount, if collected, would allow the city government to extend additional services to its constituents.

“The non-collection of the substantial potential income totaling P4,598,983,762.82 deprived the constituents of the City and its 80 barangays of its share which could have been utilized to finance their development projects, programs, and activities,” the Commission on Audit (COA) said in its 2022 Annual Audit Report.

Auditors added that the same observation was already included in their audit findings five years ago.

“This is already a repeat of a similar audit observation issued in the CY 2018 audit since despite management commitment to address this deficiency, this condition remains to exist as of this year,” COA added.

In its 2022 report, a copy of which was sent to Mayor Michael Rama last June 23, 2023, COA reminded CTO of the need to “strategize and exert more effort to enforce the collection of delinquent real property taxes.”

COA said that as a procedure, when RPT remains unpaid, the City Treasurer should immediately issue a notice of delinquency that will be have to be posted at the main entrance of the City Hall.

Auditors said that the CTO personnel in-charge of RPT collection had told them that they are yet to reconcile their records.

Duplication of records and the list of undeclared/burned/demolished buildings continue to appear on the list of real properties that they source from the Management Information and Computer Services (MICS)  and the City Assessor Office, the reason why they could yet post a notice of delinquency at the entrance of the City Hall or publish the list in a local daily.

To address the matter, COA said that CTO should tap the assistance of the barangays in verifying the existence of properties with unpaid taxes.

The notice of delinquencies may also be sent to the owners through the barangays, government auditors added.

In a press conference on Friday afternoon, July 21, Atty. Jerone Castillo, the acting Budget Officer and Special Assistant to the Mayor, said the city government’s SAYAW sa BUHIS initiative was a means to encourage, especially the delinquent property owners, to already settle their dues.

Castillo said RPT collection was identified as among the sources of the P50 billion budget for 2023.

He also warned that they will not hesitate to levy the properties of delinquent taxpayers who will continue to refuse to settle their tax dues.

“Naa man gud process: first notice, second notice, and third notice. But this time around, mao bitawng nihangyo mi sa mga tawo nga bayad mo sa inyong buhis because we will be availing of the administrative remedy of levy. Ipang levy na namo ang properties sa kadtong mga taxpayers nga dili lagi mubayad because we are telling you now, pay because you are delinquent,” he said.

“Kahibaw man ka mismo by your own self nga ikaw wa ka mo declare sa imong property or nag declare ka, wa nimo bayri. Whatever reason imo man ng responsibility as a property owner so bayri na before the city avails of so many remedies,” he added.

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