Nueva Vizcaya warns of Casecnan project auction over P4 billion tax arrears

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya– A US energy company may lose control of its multimillion-peso Casecnan multi-purpose irrigation and power project if it fails to pay nearly P4 billion in real property taxes which this province and Nueva Ecija are demanding from it.

Gov. Luisa Lloren-Cuaresma said they have no recourse but to take over the project from California Energy (Cal-Energy) and subject it to public auction if the company fails to settle its accumulated real estate taxes for its operations in the two adjoining provinces.

“We are exhausting all possible legal remedies to compel (Cal-Energy) to settle its tax obligations. We are extending to them due time to talk to us and settle their obligations,” she said.

Officials from the two provinces, who recently met here to firm up their joint claim, had given the US energy firm until Nov. 23 to settle its real estate tax arrears since 2002.

The Nueva Ecija delegation was led by provincial treasurer Edilberto Pancho.

“(Cal-Energy’s) failure to do so will compel us to take over (the Casecnan operations). We have been very considerate to them, knowing fully well the importance of the project. But we have to come to a point where we have to implement what is explicitly embodied in the Local Government Code,” Cuaresma said.

Built during the Ramos administration under a 20-year build-operate-transfer deal with the national government, the $10.5-million Casecnan project, aside from irrigating more than 500,000 hectares of farmlands in Central Luzon and parts of Pangasinan, is also generating at least 500 megawatts of power for the Luzon grid.

The project siphons water from the Casecnan and Taal rivers in the Nueva Vizcaya towns of Alfonso Castañeda and Dupax del Sur, and diverts it through 36-kilometer diversion weirs to the Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija for irrigation and power.

Based on Nueva Vizcaya’s latest tax assessment, Cal-Energy has accumulated P1,952,636,807 in unpaid real property taxes since 2002.

“The Nueva Ecija government also claims almost the same amount,” said Nueva Vizcaya provincial treasurer Perfecto Martinez Jr.

As a prerequisite to declaring ownership of the Casecnan project, Martinez said they would issue a second and final notice of tax delinquency to Cal-Energy today.

This, he said, would be followed by a warrant of levy on Oct. 16 if Cal-Energy fails to come up with a settlement. – CL