Cabanatuan condones unpaid real property tax

CABANATUAN CITY—Residents of this city in Nueva Ecija province were unburdened of paying interest and penalties from unpaid or delayed payments of real property taxes due for 2013 and prior years after the city council condoned these in time for the tax payment period starting Jan. 1.

The ordinance authorizing the condonation cited the devastation brought about by Typhoon “Santi” that hit this city and other parts of Nueva Ecija on Oct. 11 last year as the reason behind the granting of amnesty.

The ordinance said the typhoon “brought about extensive damage and devastating effects to agricultural crops and livestock, including private and public property and other vital government infrastructures.”

The devastation, it said, “lessened the capability of the citizens to pay their taxes.”

Mayor Julius Cesar Vergara sought the measure on the clamor of residents for amnesty “to enable them to update the payments of their real property taxes.”

The amnesty can be availed of starting Jan. 1 until June 30.

The condonation of penalties and interests, however, will not apply to real properties that are the subjects of court cases involving tax delinquency.

The ordinance also stopped the public auction of delinquent real property during the condonation period.

Reports from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Santi affected 747,353 people in 67 towns and seven cities in four regions in Luzon. Armand Galang, Inquirer Central Luzon