Makati files graft raps vs Taguig execs for delayed release of clearance

Makati and Taguig maps. INQUIRER FILES

MANILA, Philippines — The local government of Makati City has filed a complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman against three Taguig City government employees, including its City Treasurer, for violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

In a statement on Monday, Makati said it filed a 10-page complaint against Taguig City Treasurer Voltaire Enriquez and employees Jessie Garcia and Erika Macaligtas for violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

READ: Makati staff sue Taguig officials for ‘illegal detention’ 

The complaint arose from an 11-month delay in the Taguig City Treasurer’s Office releasing tax clearance documents for three parcels of land purchased by Makati City from the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) for P146,503,273.

“Despite having certified true copies of the tax declarations, we have yet to obtain the tax clearance documents or a tax assessment of possible taxes due to the City of Taguig. We have repeatedly followed up and sent a letter request on May 05, 2023, but the respondents intentionally delayed the procedure,” the statement read, citing the complaint.

Makati LGU added that under Taguig City’s Citizen’s Charter, the City Treasurer’s Office should only take three working days to release tax clearance documents for individuals and five working days for corporations.

It also said that “failure to process the tax clearance is patently unlawful, neglectful and unwarranted,” while also claiming that the respondents’ “deliberate and willful inaction” on the request was a showing of their “discrimination and bias against Makati City.”

“The procedure for processing tax clearance is fairly standard and uncomplicated, and does not require an unjustified 11 or more months to process the requests,” the complaint continued.

READ: Taguig City: Makati Park and Garden is ours 

In response, Taguig’s Public Information Office texted reporters that Makati’s complaint is baseless and “intended only to harass Taguig officials.”

“The cases filed against the officials and employees of Taguig will not detract them from giving the Embo [enlisted men’s barrios] residents transformative programs that they deserve,” it added.

The cities of Makati and Taguig have been embroiled in a volley of accusations against each other following a Supreme Court decision in 2022 that transferred the jurisdiction of 10 Embo barangays from Makati to Taguig.