P-Noy to DBM: Release Baguio City PEZA share

By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY – President Benigno Aquino III has asked Dept. of Budget Management Secretary Florencio Abad to release the city’s uncollected tax share from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority operations worth P125 million.

Mayor Mauricio Domogan said the President relayed this to him when he reiterated the city’s request to collect said amount during Aquino’s visit here last Aug. 19.

The mayor said the President was of the impression that the amount has already been paid to the city and was surprised when Abad told him otherwise.

Abad told the President he was still waiting for his “go signal” for the release of the long overdue account.

The mayor said the President told Abad to work out the release of the fund and noted with amusement the President’s adding a side comment on the mayor’s needling him.

“I don’t know why the President said that we have been contradicting him, but nevertheless we are happy to note that he talked with Secretary Abad for the release of the P125 million and we are hopeful that we can finally collect it to fund priority projects,” the mayor said.

The President during his first visit to the city in January directed the DBM to look into the city’s PEZA shares after the mayor asked for reconsideration of his veto of said item from the national budget last December.

The mayor then directed the Local Finance Committee to coordinate with the DBM-CAR in reconciling their figures on the claims and forward the same to the DBM central office.

The city has an accumulated tax share of around P125 million from the tax payments of business locators operating at the Loakan and Camp John Hay economic zones.

This includes the unpaid share from the years 1995-1999 and the P67 million from 2002 to 2006 which the national government has yet to remit.

The amount represents the 40 percent share of the city government from the taxes paid by the economic zone business firms in 2006, the year the PEZA law amendment took effect, mandating the direct release of the tax shares to host local government units instead of the national government.

The said amount should have been remitted directly to the city government but was erroneously paid to the national government instead.