City hall puts some tax pressure on Elipes

By Nitz Arancon

THE in-laws of ex-mayor Vicente Emano are feeling the heat and know now how it feels and what it’s like to be taxed by city hall.

City treasurer-designate Glenn Bañez has sent the mother of Councilor President Elipe a notice to demand payment of 13 years of real property taxes for a commercial property in front of Liceo de Cagayan University.

The family owes city hall over P2.7 million in taxes for the “ElipePark” located along Vamenta Boulevard in Barangay Carmen, officials said.

On the property are buildings with spaces leased out to various establishments.

The Elipes are relatives-in-law of ex-mayor Emano. The former mayor’s daughter Nadya, a councilor, is married to President Elipe, a long-time member of the city council. The latter is a loyal member of Emano’s party and is known as one of the most vocal critics of Mayor Oscar Moreno who gave the councilor’s father-in-law quite a beating in the May elections.

In a Sept. 4 letter, Bañez asked Councilor Elipe’s mother Edna to pay the local government real property taxes amounting to P2,736,276.13 which have been ballooning since 2000.

The amount excludes a two-percent penalty imposed on delinquent taxpayers.

“This computation is good until September 2013. However, if delinquent and payment is made after the month herein specified, an additional penalty of two-percent per month shall be imposed on the total amount of the unpaid balance of tax,” reads part of Bañez’s letter.

Maricel Rivera, city hall’s spokesperson, said Bañez stumbled on records of the Elipe family’s unpaid taxes while the new city treasurer and other officials were reviewing city hall’s real cash position.

“Nageview man gud mi sa cash position sa city, and our treasurer came across this record,” Rivera told The Gold Star Daily.

Based on city hall records, the Elipe family should have paid P246,059.87 in real property tax  for the Elipe Park in 2000, and P245,710.48 a year from 2001 to 2007.

Records show the family also failed to pay P142,255.56 a year from 2008 to 2010, P137,293.16 in 2011, P117,443.56 in 2012 and P86,842.06 this year.

Mrs. Elipe faulted city hall officials during the Emano administration. She said she asked the then city treasurer Lino Daral and later, Marilyn Legaspi to provide her a real property assessment and the officials failed.

Elipe said she could not believe that her family owes city hall that much, adding it was possible city hall made a mistake in its assessment on the ElipePark.

She claimed to have paid city hall some P300 thousand in taxes last year.