In a ten-page complaint filed by Makati City, Taguig City Treasurer Voltaire Enriquez, and city employees Jessie Garcia and Erika Macaligtas are accused of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Grave Misconduct, Gross Neglect of Duty, and Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service.
This relates to an 11-month delay in the release of tax clearance documents by the Taguig City Treasurer's Office for 3 land parcels that Makati City purchased from the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) for a total of P146,503,273.
According to Makati Mayor Abby Binay, after completing the transaction and paying tax to the national government, they obtained from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) the so-called Certificate Authorizing Registration for the Transfer Certificate of Title.
To process the transfer of the title, the Tax Declaration of the three land parcels needs to be submitted to the Registry of Deeds overseeing Taguig City.
Local Tax Clearances from Taguig City and Proof of Payment of Local Transfer Taxes are also required.
"While the tax declaration documents were easily obtained, there was inordinate delay in securing the tax clearance and assessment for the payment of local transfer taxes. During the series of follow-ups, the respondents only said that the application for tax clearance is still pending with the City Treasurer's Office but offered no acceptable reason for the delay," according to a statement released by the Makati City Government.
"The Taguig City Government has shown on many occasions a contemptuous disregard for the law. Aside from the unjustifiable delay in the release of tax clearance documents, they have harassed our employees and are now facing charges of illegal detention and grave coercion. Their obsession to grab properties owned by Makati seems to have compromised their judgement, public conduct, and sense of decency," said Makati Mayor Abby Binay.
On the other hand, the Taguig City Government asserts the complaint by Makati is baseless.
"This is another baseless complaint filed by Makati, intended only to harass Taguig officials. The cases filed against the officials and employees of Taguig will not detract them from giving the EMBO residents transformative programs that they deserve," the Taguig City Government stated.
(Screenshot from Google Maps)
