Losses and losers

It seems that, during the last week, the news focused on losses and losers. The manager of Central Negros Electric Cooperative was sacked for losses. Then the director of the Bacolod City Water District was ousted by the court due to controversial water losses. Businessmen, realtors and land owners, big and small are starting to count how much they would lose due to increased real estate taxes.

Bacolod media also lost when they got a wallop from a reader who raised the issue of media people who kept silent while the city raised real estate taxes. The charge that these have casuals in the city’s payroll taints many, but then can that be denied? As the saying goes, their slip is showing indeed.

Even in the national level, Vice President Jejomar Binay is still smiling, but he is losing political ground. Not spared in the string of losses are the oil companies that have to roll back their prices due to drop in world demand. The petroleum producers are losing their grip on the world economy.

Their loss, however, is most welcome to motor vehicle owners and passengers that agonized long and hard over high oil prices.

Of course the Organization Oil Producing Countries tried their traditional scheme of reducing production but that did not deter the oil consuming countries. There is enough oil with the US mining the shale deposits. If OPEC reduced production they will be eased out of the market. Their extortionist days are over.

Let’s deal with the local losers.

The Bacolod media has to show that they or their relatives are not in the casuals’ payroll of the city government. It seems that citizens are beginning to see through the charade. In the end it will be their client at the Bacolod City Government Center who will lose with their loss of credibility.

Indeed the increase in real estate taxes is a blow to all, big and small lot owners. The sad part is that while the realtors will be able to pass the tax to their buyers, the small lot owners – those owning from a small one of 50 square meters to the usual 240 square meters will be hit.

Imagine, for instance. Memorial parks that sell up to P70,000 per lot of three square meters are assessed at P8,000 while another memorial garden that is yet to open is already assessed at P40,000 or so simply because its brochure is beautifully made. The future is already taxed.

Or, take the case of a posh subdivision that is assessed at P8,000 per square meter while the small lots in Magsungay are evaluated at three times that.

So, it seems the poor are the losers, but two memorial parks are the winners.

I heard, however, that landowners and realtors are not about to carry the burden of their losses. There is a plan to sue the city for legal defects and unconstitutionality of this ordinance. Our citizens should not howl against media people who kept quiet on this issue. Many people are silent. When the suit is filed, I suggest that lot owners, regardless of the size of their land, should join in this possible class suit. The more the adversely affected people will file, the better the chances of the ordinance getting junked by the court. They should not let others fight their war.

By the way, who are the councilors who voted for this ordinance? Remember them in 2016. There are nine of them. Also, how true is the report that these nine councilors divided among themselves P3 million in the city’s intelligence fund? According to an insider in the Government Center, this is their “payola” for hurriedly approving the Real Property Tax, even bypassing legal requirements.

If true (I have no reason to doubt the source) then they are the winners and lot owners the losers. What a Christmas gift from the city government! So again, remember them in 2016 and make them losers.

CENECO’s systems loss is believed to be above the allowable limit. If the loss is high, the cost is passed on to electricity concessionaires. But should the general manager be solely blamed? Since the National Electrification Administration is investigating, let’s wait for the results.

The question is why the Board had not moved quickly enough. How many millions were lost to the coop and to us? Should not the board share the blame? The systems loss is not a quickie occurrence. It takes a long time and the Board waited. Something smells.*

back to top