Reduced tax assessment against quarry firm surprises Cebu officials

Local

A PROPOSED compromise that would shrink a P1.218 billion tax assessment against Apo Land and Quarry Corporation (ALQC) to P211.56 million has drawn scrutiny from members of the Cebu Provincial Board (PB), who say the matter requires careful review before any decision is made.

Vice Gov. Glenn Soco said he was surprised when the proposed compromise settlement between the Cebu Provincial Government and ALQC was released to the public without prior consultation with the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

In a press conference on Friday, March 6, Soco said it would have been "prudent to inform the legislative body" before presenting the proposal publicly.

Soco assured that the PB will carefully review the proposed compromise settlement, stressing that the board must consider its implications for ordinary taxpayers.

He said the review aims to ensure that the province’s Local Revenue Code provides equal protection to all taxpayers.

“Mao bitaw nga ang unang question… angayan ba, before we even move further to pila,” Soco said, referring to whether the compromise agreement itself is appropriate before discussing the amount involved.

Soco explained that the Office of the Governor transmitted the endorsement to the Provincial Board through the SP Secretary on January 26.

The resolution had earlier appeared on the Provincial Board agenda on February 23 but was deferred during the board’s regular session.

The board first referred it to the Committee on Laws and Ordinances, then calendared it during the regular session, where it was further referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

The PB will tackle the proposal through a joint committee hearing between the committees on laws, review and ordinances chaired by Board Member Nelson Mondigo and ways and means chaired by Board Member Michael Villamor.

Soco said the board will conduct a thorough review to ensure the settlement rests on solid legal ground and serves the best interests of the people of Cebu.

“The Provincial Board will carefully review the proposal and handle it carefully with the primary consideration in mind that it should stand on solid legal ground and it should be for the best interest of the people of Cebu,” Soco said.

He also emphasized that ordinances approved by the Cebu Provincial Board remain applicable and operable until they are amended, repealed, or declared unconstitutional, giving assessments under the Cebu Provincial Revenue Code a legal basis.

Board Member Tining Martinez also raised concerns, saying the compromise proposal had already been reviewed and accepted by the governor before it was transmitted to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

In a Facebook post, he said the matter is currently under review by the Joint Committees on Laws and on Ways and Means and will eventually be presented in plenary, where the board will decide the issue through a vote.

Martinez said public pronouncements suggesting that the province was already on the losing end of the case were premature and unnecessary.

He warned that such statements could place the PB in a difficult and potentially prejudicial position.

He said the statements created the impression that the province had no choice but to accept the proposed P200 million settlement instead of pursuing the P1.2 billion obligation owed to it, which could weaken the province’s legal position and undermine the interests the provincial government is duty-bound to protect.

Martinez also said the legal counsel representing the province should act in a way that safeguards the province’s interests.

He emphasized that based on information from the provincial legal office, the only issue resolved in court so far involved the petition filed by APO against the issuance of a cease-and-desist order by the former governor, while other significant cases remain pending.

He also stressed that the compromise proposal has been deferred and questioned how the proposed P200 million compromise amount was derived from the original P1.2 billion obligation, saying the public deserves a clear and transparent explanation.

Martinez added that other large-scale quarry and mining companies with pending petitions are closely watching how the province will handle the proposed compromise.

He warned that any agreement could set a precedent that may affect similar cases involving the provincial government in the future.

The dispute involves ALQC’s assessed liabilities from 2009 to 2025, which originally totaled P1.218 billion and included extraction taxes, monitoring fees, environmental enhancement fees, surcharges and penalties under the Cebu Provincial Revenue Code.

In a media interview on Wednesday, Gov. Pamela Baricuatro said the proposed compromise settlement reduced the assessment to P211.56 million after the province removed extraction fees that made up most of the original amount.

She explained that the company’s quarry operations were conducted on private land.

Atty. Restituto “Resti” Arnaiz, legal officer of the Office of the Governor, cited a Supreme Court ruling supporting the decision, explaining that extraction taxes apply only to materials taken from public land.(MyTVCebu)