Quezon City has got another controversy to deal with.
“The government, through the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to stop the Quezon City government from auctioning off the UP-Ayala Land Technohub property due to non-payment of real estate taxes,” reports ABS-CBNnews.com.
The report noted: “The QC government, through its treasurer, earlier notified the University of the Philippines (UP) administration that the property will be auctioned off to make up for unpaid real estate taxes amounting to PHP117.18 million.”
In fact, on July 22, 2014, the report indicated that “UP received the final notice of delinquency dated July 11, 2014 from the Office of the City Treasurer, demanding the payment of the amount.”
However, acting Solicitor General Florin Hibay, in a 13-page petition, insisted that UP is exempt from taxes, based on the provisions of Republic Act No. 9500, or the UP Charter.
Hibay likewise petitioned for the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) to stop the QC government from selling the property.
UP’s share in the revenues of the UP-Ayala Land Technohub, as well as the lease paid by Ayala Land, supplement the university’s budget.
While the QC government claimed that the property became taxable when it was leased to Ayala Land, the report said that “the OSG stressed that the subject property was assessed for real property tax for the years 2009-2013, and the first three quarters of 2014, when the UP Charter was already in effect.”
“Under the said provision, the only condition imposed on UP’s exemption is that all its revenues and assets must be used for educational purposes or in support thereof,” the OSG noted.
Photo by Ramon F. Velasquez (WikiCommons)
