THE Commission on Audit (COA) has recommended that the San Juan City government take legal action against delinquent property owners to compel settlement of unpaid real property taxes (RPT) which has ballooned to P233.835 million as of yearend 2020.
In the 2020 audit of the city released last July 28, government auditors noted that part of the uncollected property taxes totaling P92.31 million date back to more than 10 years, while the rest covers the period from 2011 to 2020.
Of the unpaid taxes, P86.8 million was supposed to go to the Special Education Fund and P147.03 million to the city’s general funds.
The COA pinned the blame on the City Treasury Department for its failure to exercise administrative and judicial options available to it under the law.
It said the city treasurer should issue notices of delinquency to non-paying property owners and to coordinate with the City Legal Office to take legal steps to enforce collection of long overdue taxes.
In reaction to the audit observation, the City Treasury Department said it had already prepared the notices of delinquency early last year but was overtaken by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
It assured the COA that it is already working with the City Legal Office to haul delinquent taxpayers to court to compel them to settle their accountabilities.
The COA, in its report, noted that under the city’s Revenue Code, the city treasurer is empowered to initiate seizure of the delinquent taxpayers’ personal properties to be sold at a public auction, file a civil case with a local court, and to levy the real property and sell part of it to satisfy the unpaid obligation.
