It’s not the mirror

Nineteenth century Russian novelist Nikolai Gogol said it well, “don’t blame the mirror if your face is faulty.” How appropriate is the observation of the Russian writer relative to two recent reports in Bacolod City where officials look for somebody to blame when the fault lies squarely with them.

First we have the city officials blaming the previous administration for the fiasco of the questionable tax ordinance, the Real Property Tax that is now the subject of several cases filed with the court and the Department of Justice. This kind of reasoning indicates that the city is looking for scapegoat for its fault.

The city officials say that had the previous administration already revised the tax assessment of real estate property nine years ago, they would not be facing these suits. Indeed, if the Evelio Leonardia administration revised the assessment  nine years ago, then their reasoning goes, the present administration would not have to revise it.

If indeed the Leonardia administration failed and that was a culpable violation of the Local Government Code, why didn’t Monico Puentevella and his stable of people who were fond of filing cases sue Leonardia? Remember that Puentevella claimed that if he had not raised the taxes, he would have been charged?

The fact is that nobody has ever been charged for not raising taxes and the mandate to review does not necessarily mean that after the review taxes must be raised. Moreover if the increase were necessary, there is no mandate how much.

If Puentevella takes a keener look at the cases, there is nothing in these complaints that charged him and city officials for making the review and even for increasing the assessment. The issues are not the revision but the manner in which the ordinance was crafted and passed. Not even is there much issue about the rates per se, but how these rates were arrived at. Surely there are valid bases but the outcome of the assessment clearly shows discrimination. For instance, why is there no uniformity; why are lots in a posh subdivision cheaper than those in socialized housing?

The issue is, again, not the RPT per se but the process of its passage. Why were there shortcuts, why were the required publications and legislative process not followed? These legal infirmities are the points of attack in the complaints and so far the city has not explained the reasons for the haste and disregard for the legal processes.

These defects are the city officials’ own making so that blaming the past administration of not revising the RPT is clearly off tangent logic. They opened the door for these charges as if daring the taxpayers to challenge them. They became so overly confident of their number of pliant councilors they threw caution to the winds. City officials are blaming the mirror for their own faults.

The second issue is that of the Sum-ag market where the barangay officials are blaming the trisikads, the sidewalk vendors, the double parking vehicles, push carts and the buyers for the scandalously chaotic traffic particularly on Tuesdays, from early morning till the evening.

The national government spent millions to widen the road to carry the increasing traffic but the widened road only provided more spaces for vendors and parking for buyers. And through all these months, nay years, the barangay officials did not bother to solve this monster that they created either through negligence or tolerance, if not to gain or retain political mileage.

They need not look far for solutions. All they need to do is enforce the law – roads are for passage not for vending. This is simply a matter of keeping in mind that these roads are “beyond the commerce of man”, as lawyers oft say. 

Sum-ag is growing fast but the mentality remains rural. The road that traverses it is the main highway south of Bacolod and should be cleared for easy and fast passage. The clogged traffic there on Tuesday where it takes thirty or more minutes to travel a kilometer is worse than Araneta or Lacson Streets.

Sure there are traffic enforcers and barangay tanod but they are better in blowing their whistles than clearing the streets of illegal obstructions.

The barangay must clear the highway and open a new market away from the main road. Atty. Ben Ortega’s offered lot is not forerver. Tuesday is market day when many people from outside Sum-ag converge there as sellers and buyers. They should be given another place away from the highway.*

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