Old me and Singapore-like city

When I was in Grade 5 in Candijay, Bohol, our teacher, the late Mrs. Decula “Ma’am Dicdic” Abrea taught us the poem entitled “Old Black Joe.” Since Iforgot the author, I recently visited the Internet and learned that Stephen Foster wrote it. Ma’am Dicdic even gave to this poem a beautiful melody which I can still sing today. The first lines of this poem/song are: Gone are the days when my heart was young and gay. Gone are my friends from the cotton fields away”…

I may not be black, for I belong to the brown race, but I remember Old Black Joe specially the fifth line - “for my head is bending low” when people talk about Singapore-like Cebu City. Many have become more agog than excited to see the physical transformation of our city to the level of our Asian state-neighbor as envisioned by the Honorable Mayor Michael Rama. I must admit that the mayor’s dream - no more floods, garbage is collected promptly, traffic jams are past - is grandiose. Unfortunately, the old black Joe in me cannot be helpful. In fact, this mayor’s dream will subject me to a seemingly unbearable oppression.

When my heart was young and gay, (continues Old Black Joe) and able to earn more than a penny a day, I spent whatever little extra I had to buy affordable real estate. My lady, Carmen, made sure to pay promptly our real estate taxes. She never delayed. We thought that such humble investments would help us in our sunset days. To our horrible realization, this is where Singapore-like Cebu City for which achievement the city needs an initial mind-boggling budget of about fifty billion pesos will severely oppress us. We did not anticipate this hardship.

I hope the Cebu City administration can consider this angle that is hugely burdensome to me. Paging Mayor Rama, and the honorable members of the City Council. Maybe in your rush to approximate Nebuchadnezzar, you forgot that the Babylonian gardens might have caused their people to hang themselves economically emaciated. To be objective, i went around soliciting impressions and I have reason to believe that there are other ordinary citizens in my foreseeably difficult financial situation. What good is Singapore-like city when the capacity of the constituents to live free of economic stress is gravely affected!

Listen to this hard fact. We, having retired from the active practice of our professions, are both old and jobless. Yet, this year alone we paid just for two assets P5,000 (in round figure) in real estate taxes on the land. This sum excludes the tax on the buildings. What worries us is that to accomplish the Singapore-like dream of the present dispensation, the City Tax Code has been revised to take effect on July 1, 2023. This revision shall impose upon us quite a heavy monetary load. The Honorable Councilor Noel Wenceslao claimed that the increase in real estate taxes is ONLY (emphasis, mine) 200%. I do not think his declaration is anchored on honesty. In a computation by a city hall insider, however, I will pay P24,000 (also in round figure), for these two properties alone. Mathematics is not my cup of tea but, my goodness, from P5,000 to P24,000 of real estate in land alone that is not just 200% increase. The upward swing is almost an unimaginable 400% plus. Pastilan oi! Asa man ko’g kwarta nga ibayad aning taas nga buhis?

Now that gone are my days when my heart was young and gay, and my head is bending low, there are two options left for me to help the Singapore-like plan. First, I have to sell other assets to be able to pay high taxes needed to support the dream of the mayor. Second, since I do not have the means to pay the increased taxes, I will just wait for the city to levy my properties and sell these in public auction. Are not these two options oppressive?