MikeLigalig.com

By the Bohol Chronicle

The city mayor of Tagbilaran is pursuing his harassment on taxpayers even as most businesses in the city are not being issued business permits arbitrarily at the mayor's sole discretion.

The latest to be victimnized is the Bohol Chronicle Radio Corp. which has remained vocal in discussing issues of public interest in the city.

"Unlike the mayor who answers back ligitimate issues with personal attacks, we are facing the issue squarely by filing an administrative charges against City Treasurer Visitacion Acero," according to a press statement issued by the corporation yesterday.  (see: separate story).

"We  were not surprise to receive this letter as we have heard of such letters sent to businessmen since last year," this was the initial reaction of  Chronicle which was in receipt of this so-called "tax assessment" letter from the city hall.

"We did not give that much credence to such actuations labeled at the city mayor until we personally received that kind of a letter last Jan. 26, 2009."

The letter, according to realiable sources at the city hall, "came from the top which the city treasuruer was ordered to sign."

The letter signed by City Treasurer Visitacion Acero was received after the Chronicle and its sister station dyRD-AM have closely been following up  issues involving the city government, namely: the city drainage problem, the P6.5 million unliquadated cash advances exposed by the Commission on Audit, the highly questionable P337M budget for this year and the the City Square contract described by lawyers as grossly disadvantagous to the city government and taxpayers.

In its press statement, the Chronicle showed evidences of business tax payments duly receipted by the city government, which  were issued by the city mayor since he assumed office in 2004.

Elsewhere in this issue is the publication of Mayor's Permits issued by Mayor Dan Lim and former
Mayor Jose Torralba to disprove the allegations of non-payment of taxes by the corporation.

"It's a blatant lie peddled by the city mayor during his weekly radio program yesterday," says a press statement issued by the corporation.

The mayor in his usual style of "attacking personalities" over the airlanes during his radio program yesterday  claimed that the Chronicle and station DYRD started to "attack his administration when we the media institution was assessed of its taxes paid to the city government."

"That was another blatant lie made by the mayor," the Chronicle reacted as it is of public knowledge that the mayor left his weekly radio program over dyRD in the midst of the raging issue over the city's drainage problem way back in October last year.

While the twin media enterprise quoted his flip flopping statements regarding the call to cut the illegal sewerage connections along CPG Ave. he started to criticize the editorial stand of the print and broadcast entities. 

Since after the drainage issue placed the mayor in a bad light due to his failure to properly manage the problem city, his attacks against the twin media enterprise came unrelentlessly. In fact, during a recorded radio program, the mayor asked the "public as a Christmas gift to him - to stop reading the Chronicle and cease listening to dyRD."

That was long before he sent  the "tax assessment" letter to BCRC.

In fact, he started issuing personal attacks over the airlanes against the Chronicle editors and dyRD radio commentators right after he left the Chronicle owned station late last year.

Ever since he assumed office, he  broadcast his weekly "Mayor's Report" over dyRD every Saturday until he decided to leave the station amid the raging drainage issue.

"Businessmen in the city should not be intimidated by the present city hall administration through their so-called tax assessment letters," but should  instead seek legal redress against harrassments and initimadation, the statement continued.

In fact, it is of public knowldege that majority of the city's establishments are not being issued business permits since the time when this mayor assumed office, a situation which one can never find in  other cities in the country.

HARASSMENT PATTERN
The letter came as a pattern on how city hall harasses the media.

In the case of blocktimer Kagawad Roberto "Batchoy" Alba, anchorman of the top-rated "Pulso," he denounced city hall for asking his sponsors to stop advertising in his public affairs program. His failure to pay the airtime cost effected a weeklong suspension of Alba's program sometine last year. However, radio listeners from abroad are now supporting the radio program which crusade for good governance.

"The withdrawal of sponsors came at a time when I was criticizing the city mayor," the radio blocktimer recalled, saying " city hall wanted to silence me." 

The blocktimer became a victim of an attempted arson at his residence in secluded barangay Tiptip, this city last Nov. 1, 2008.

The series of public discussion on various issues involving the city hall came as a prelude to this unfounded "tax assessement" letter addressed to BCRC, the corporation stated.
In fact, the letter came only now when public indignation against city hall activities have escalated over the airlanes.

 "It is now becoming obvious to the public that harassment is the motive of this move of the city governemt which we are not cowed but instead will continue with our role as purveyor of truth,"  the BCRC statement concluded.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=17767.0