36 want to redeem forfeited lots in Cebu City

At least 36 taxpayers expressed interest to redeem their real properties that have been forfeited in favor of the Cebu City government for tax delinquency.

The real properties include a mix of commercial, residential and agricultural lands and buildings with a value of around P100 million.

“We still haven’t discussed what to do with this. Many owners said they want to redeem their properties but we still have to discuss this with the City Council,” said acting city treasurer Diwa Cuevas.

A partial list of forfeited real properties was referred by Cuevas to the City Council to decide whether to schedule an auction.

A delinquent taxpayer has one year from the date of the auction to redeem his property under Sec. 261 of the Local Government Code.

READ: City treasurer: Be careful with tax relief proposals 

But he or she has to pay the tax delinquency, with interest, and expenses of the sale and interest of not more than two percent per month for the period.

City Ordinance 2363 or the Real Property Public Auction of 2013 provides that real properties foreclosed by the city will be auctioned through public bidding.

The original owners are given a chance to match the highest bid for them to reclaim their properties.

In the List of the City Treasurer’s Office, some said they’re willing pay for the property based on the auction price. Some said they were willing to pay on installment basis.

Cuevas said her office still has to tax-map the properties and check their current state and location.

Councilor Noel Wenceslao earlier proposed granting a tax holiday for delinquent owners of real properties in the city so they won’t have to pay the 50 percent interest on unpaid Real Property Taxes (RPT) from January 2009 to 2014.

However, this would only apply to delinquent tax payers whose properties have not yet been forfeited  in favor of the city government.

The ordinance is up for final deliberation in the city council. A public hearing on this was earlier held.