Pay your tax dues by June or lose your properties.
This was the warning of Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada to 89,000 delinquent property owners, saying that the city government has R16 billion uncollected real property tax (RPT).
“I’m appealing to the property owners to please settle your tax obligations. Otherwise, we will be compelled to conduct public auctions where you will definitely lose ownership of your properties,” he said.
Estrada said that the money to be collected from RPT payments can be used to fund socio-economic programs for the poor and improve the delivery of basic services to every Manileño.
To ease the burden of the property owners, Estrada signed last January Ordinance No. 8516 cancelling the 40 percent increase in RPT rates that was supposed to take effect this 2017.
City Treasurer Rizal del Rosario said they have started sending notices by mail to each of the 89,000 delinquent property owners since January, informing them of their tax dues.
Two more written notices will be sent later on, including the required publication of such notices in major newspapers, before the Office of the City Treasurer can set the date for the public auction, according to Del Rosario. (Jaimie Rose Aberia)
