Parañaque eyes NAIA fees for roads

It has yet to collect a single centavo from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), but this early, the Parañaque City government already has plans to use its real estate tax "collectibles" from the country’s premier airport.

"A larger chunk of its collectibles from NAIA will be allocated mainly to infrastructure projects. One of which is the construction of city colleges," said Mar Jimenez, city information chief, in a two-page press statement.

Jimenez said Mayor Joey Marquez has emphasized the city government’s determination to collect what is due to the people of Parañaque.

"We need more roads as well as schools and colleges and better health services. Infrastructure according (to the mayor), will definitely stimulate growth that could ease the burdens of the poor so that livelihood and self-reliance will also be given utmost attention in order to alleviate poverty," Jimenez said.

Luis Mendoza, Parañaque’s legal officer, said in the same statement that the city government is demanding (from NAIA) an amount close to P724 million.

Mendoza also said that Marquez is willing to talk with airport officials about how they could pay their obligation to the city government.

Last week, the Court of Appeals (CA) denied the Manila International Airport Authority’s (MIAA) motion for reconsideration to stop the city government from auctioning off the airport. MIAA operates the NAIA.

The appellate court justices said in their decision that NAIA was not exempt from paying taxes to Parañaque. They noted that NAIA had in fact paid realty taxes to the city government from 1992 to 1997. Such payments signified NAIA’s recognition of the city’s authority to collect real estate taxes. – Nikko Dizon