Treasurer to John Hay locators: Pay or close

By Isagani S. Liporada

BAGUIO CITY – City treasurer Thelma Manaois last week warned locators within Camp John Hay to pay city regulatory fees or face closure.

She said the locators’ refusal to pay mayor’s permit fees to the city would result to higher fees because of penalties. “The campaign and investigation division and the permits and licensing office are already warming up we will visit them sometime in February to make the necessary inventory.”

Earlier, Manaois’ less than zealous resolve to collect regulatory fees from ‘illegal vendors’ within the multi-billion mega-tourism estate got a boost from city legal officer Melchor Carlos Rabanes.

Rabanes in a Jan.13 letter urged Manaois not to give way to John Hay Management Corporation’s thrust seeking to thwart payment of business taxes by Camp John Hay locators.

“It is incumbent upon the city government to assert authority and require locators within to secure business or license fees,” he said. “The city government cannot surrender its powers and authority granted by its charter and the clear provisions of the Local Government Code.”

As early as March 1, 2007, Manaois asked accredited enterprises within Camp John Hay to settle business permits with the city.

However, JHMC officer-in-charge Lyssa Pagano – Calde in a letter dated March 26, 2007 to Manaois claimed “enterprises within JHSEZ are not required to secure business permits or licenses from Baguio.”

Calde explained that pursuant to Presidential Proclamation 1191, John Hay has been declared as a Special Tourism economic Zone within the purview if Republic Act (RA) 7916 or the Special Economic Zone Act of 1995. “As an offshoot, a registration agreement was executed between the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and JHMC. The agreement provided that JHMC as developer-operator of the ecozone is authorized, among others, to administer, manage, and operate the ecozone.”

“It was only then,” Manaois recalled, “that the locators surrendered their permits and never settled the necessary fees with us again.”

The treasurer citing Rabanes added JHMC and its locators should distinguish between the exercises of the power of taxation contra police power granted to LGUs via the Local Government Code.

In the middle of 2009, she solicited the aid of John Hay Management Corporation for aid in inventorying CJH businesses pursuant to administrative order (AO) 102-2009 bolstering business tax collection on commercial establishments thereat.

But JHMC operations group manager Frank Daytec, Jr. told Manaois JHMC cannot act on the city’s request for assistance.

Manaois said CJH is not a city within a city. “The CLO already gave us the green light, even saying reference of AO 102-2009 to the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel of vis-à-vis JHMC’s claims for exemption can prevent collection.” .