Mayor Jun's 2010 gift to Parañaque

2010 is here and with it, promises and hope for a better year. Many of the business leaders we interviewed just before the year ended said so, but with a postscript – there is no way to go but up for our country. It may not reflect the most positive of attitudes, but at least it smacks of hope and not despair, which is what this country needs.

For the City of Parañaque, I share the optimism of many residents. The city government runs as efficiently as you can hope it to be under the leadership of the kind Mayor Jun Bernabe Jr. who has been quietly working for a better Paranaque. Backed by a good team led by his Vice- Mayor Gus Tambunting, the city is now garbage-free, well-lit and very clean and the City Hall hums with quiet efficient activity.

The latest development here is the passage of the Sangguniang Panglungsod Ordinance 09-15. Under the direction of Mayor Jun, his councilors Florante Romez Jr. and Giovanni Esplana sponsored this ordinance called Providing for Financial Relief Through Tax Holidays for Limited Period to Owners of Real Property in the City of Parañaque.

Under said ordinance, owners of real properties in this city who have either misdeclared them or have not declared them at all for tax purposes can now breathe easy and come out in the open. The city government is granting tax amnesty to delinquent property owners – they need only to pay the basic tax which the friendly staff at the Treasurer’s Office will gladly compute for you. All penalties and surcharges are waived, provided you pay in full the back taxes on or before March 31, 2010. This holds true also for real property owners who have not updated their tax payments and have not been issued Delinquency Notices by the City Treasurer’s Office. Just because you haven’t received such notices, it doesn’t mean that you have escaped their hawk eyes, they just haven’t gotten around to you yet, but they will. You also have until March 31 of this year to make good your tax records by paying only the basic taxes for the last five years instead of counting farther back.

Previously, as covered by Section 22 of the Local Government Code of 1991, the delinquent real property owners were made to pay back taxes of 10 years prior to settlement. This latest amnesty program cuts this down to just five years back.

By April 1, 2010 the city government will start their tax mapping operations, and those who do not avail of the tax amnesty will have to pay through their nose because when they get to them, you can be sure they will really get tough on the tax evaders. After this grace period, the rogues will have to pay their taxes computed from 10 years back, together with all the surcharges and penalties.

If you’re one of these rogues, know a good deal when you’re faced with one. Hie off to the City Treasurer’s Office before summer sets in, and get a good night’s sleep thereafter.

2010 Business Outlook

We sought out some of our business leaders for their capsule evaluations of 2009 and perhaps some fearless forecasts for 2010. Almost all of them rated 2009 as a bad year, and rightly so. With the economic meltdown bearing down on us in the first half of the year, the consumer pulse was hardly felt as everyone held on tight to their purses. All of our business leaders and economists though are united in saying that we were thankfully spared from bearing the brunt of the backlash of the global crisis, and we fared much better than all of our Asian neighbors.

Ed Lacson, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PCCI), is hopeful for 2010. Yes, he was one of those who said that there is no way to go but up for us, but he also said that for this year, they will continue to pursue their three-fold program for the country: food security, education, infrastructure, and energy self-sufficiency.

Sergio Ortiz-Luis, president of Phil Export said that over-all, exports went down by as much as 20 percent for this year. 2007 and 2008 were already bad years for the exporters primarily because of the exchange rate, but 2009 was even worse because all the major destinations were countries hard hit by the global crisis: the US, Japan and most of the European countries so that there was a need to change the profile of destinations for the exporters. The BPO sector, which was registering a growth rate of 40 percent before the crisis, went down with a 25-percent growth, which is still a healthy, hefty one. Others that registered positively, albeit with small percentages, are the jewelry and mining sectors. Benjamin Romualdez, president of Phil. Chamber of Mines, says that production output was higher in 2009. Furniture and agriculture performed badly.

The same goes for the country’s semi conductors & electronics industries. Ernie Santiago, president of the association of the industry players, said that after the brutal downturn of 2008, the industry really hit rock bottom by the end of that year. In 2009, they still registered a negative growth, though they noted that every quarter was better than the previous one, so 2010 looks very promising indeed especially for consumer electronics like E books, Blu Ray, S Mart phones, sound bars which will spur the growth for the new year.

The Federation of Phil. Industries, led by its president, Jesus Arranza, noted some improvement in the construction industry, especially after the big typhoons when many had to rebuild their homes. Rated positive were the housing sector, construction, service and tourism industries, though Mr. Arranza continues to call on the Bureau of Customs to clamp down on the rampant and blatant smuggling.

Very optimistic were Ms. Lilia de Lima, director of PEZA, Ms. Aileen Zosa, VP of BCDA, Pascual Garcia III, president of the Chamber of Thrift Banks, and Bingo Limjoco, VP of the Phil. Franchise Association. PEZA approved some 475 projects for 2009, and they project about $10,600,000 for this year. We’re apparently going strong in medical instrumentation and electronics for 2010. BCDA’s revenues for 2009 stood at P5.5 billion as against 2008’s P5 billion. Among their major accomplishments for ’09 are the completion of the Subic-Clark Toll Ways and the privatization of a big portion of North Bonifacio from which they expect to generate P306 million more over the next 12 years. They hope to complete the bidding of the Subic-Clark Expressway and the sale of the Jusmag and Poro Point properties this year.

The Thrift Banks report that with so much liquidity, they grew by 25 percent, and all 57 members of the association reached their targets! The Franchisers reported another good year, with a marked increase in franchises costing P1 million and below, most of them from OFWs and their families. This year, they hope to host the Asia Pacific Franchise Confederation Convention which the Philippines co-founded. The Philippines continues to be an acknowledged leader in the franchise industry, besting our more affluent neighbors like China, India, and Thailand.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.    

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