Parking rip-off

A publication recently issued by the city hall has put us Cebuanos in troubled apprehension. The announcement mentioned about the imposition of higher real estate taxes against, of course, land owners in the city. In an accompanying news story, the city administration tried justifying the additional burden.

There is no question that taxes are the lifeblood of the state. Without revenues, governmental agencies will be unable to deliver the kind of services our people deserve. Considering, however, that the times are not economically favored, our authorities should have first looked at possible sources of untapped revenues before imposing new ones.

Take for instance this pay parking area by the side of the Ayala complex at the Cebu Business Park. When I drove my rickety car to park there one afternoon this week, I noticed that the parking ticket issued to me bore an alteration. The originally printed amount as the parking fee was superimposed with a handwritten figure. While I mused to myself, "What else is new?" and didn't really mind the escalation even if poor men like me could hardly afford it, I entertained the thought that the superimposed figure was a fluke.

Driving out, I handed to the man at the ticket booth a P20 bill. Politely though, he informed me that my payment was short of P5. My reflexes being slow, I took time finding my money to pay the balance. All told, for staying at the parking area for about one hour, I had to shell out P25.

To avoid delaying the others whose cars were stacked behind mine, I drove off as soon as the barrier was pulled up. I made sure though that I had my receipt with me.

Upon reaching home, I examined my receipt. It was a cash register generated paper carrying the imprimatur "Valid as OR". It was a receipt issued by Metro Parking for a cash payment of P15. But, I was asked to pay and I handed to the personnel manning the ticket booth not just P15 but P25 of hard earned money!

I realized that I was cheated. Whoever they are, parking personnel, cash register clerks or the owners of the business, they all ripped me off. P10 may be loose change to them but, to paupers like me, whose every centavo counts, the amount which I was cheated of, added bitter insult to a severely injured principle.

I am contemplating of initiating a complaint for illegal exaction which I believe is the term given by the law to a similar situation. It may cost me more hassle and inexplicable burden but ours being a government of laws and not of men, these certainly are attendant risks. As I assume that I am not the only person who was charged a higher amount than what was reflected in the Official Receipt, I am thinking that there must be other victims in this rip-off.

Indeed, I am not losing sight of the possibility that the city could be a bigger victim. Surely, hundreds of cars park at this privately owned facility, day in and day out and the car owners pay the imposed charge of P25. Again, take note that the Official Receipt only acknowledges the payment of P15. Multiplying the P10 excess, nay unaccounted, payment per car, thousands of pesos of possibly taxable funds pass from the car park users to the operators without the same being imposed the corresponding dues.

Our government should have looked carefully into situations like this before deciding to add to our heavy tax burdens. If it should be able to collect the correct taxes due from this and similar businesses, my feeling of being ripped-off is somehow assuaged such that the filing my case may not be necessary anymore.