Displaced West Tower residents told to pay taxes by yearend

MANILA, Philippines - Unit owners of the West Tower Condominium – which has been unoccupied since its residents were evacuated in October 2010, three months after an oil leak was detected in its basements – were given until Dec. 31 to pay business and realty taxes by the Makati City government.

Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay said the extension was granted under City Ordinance 2011-047 to allow the West Tower residents and business owners to pay their 2011 tax dues without penalty. The ordinance amends Ordinance 2011-005, which set the amnesty period within the first quarter of this year.

“Extending the period of the tax amnesty is aimed to ease the burden of West Tower residents and merchants until complete restoration is in place and they could safely return to their condo units,” Binay said.

The tax relief stemmed from Binay’s recommendation after the building’s residents were evacuated to allow pipeline operator First Philippine Industrial Corp. to drain the oil that leaked from its pipeline.

Binay, however, said unit owners need to submit a written request for amnesty to the city treasurer for approval. Realty tax division chief Lina Estrella Enriquez said the amnesty covers only realty tax due for 2011 and does not include the period prior to the gas leak, which occurred in July 2010.

Records of the realty tax division show that some 58 registered West Tower property owners have sought a tax reprieve, while only about four commercial or business establishments are located in the building.