The October auction sale would be the second in the last two months and since such civil remedy was imposed by the Local Government Code in 1991.
Provincial Treasurer Alegria Beltran said the upcoming auction sale is a followup of the initial auction activity earlier held at the provincial capitol compound.
"We will auction properties regardless of how much their delinquency is," she said.
During the first auction sale, the Provincial Treasurer’s Office (PTO) offered for sale some 37 real properties with recorded delinquencies of more than P30,000.
Beltran said the auction sale awakened real property owners of their obligations.
She said it prompted most of the listed delinquent real property owners to either settle their pending dues or make some arrangements with the PTO.
"It was a test case but it gained a lot of success. So we immediately set another auction sale for the last quarter of the year," she said.
Beltran advised property owners with unpaid tax dues to pay them as soon as possible so they would not be included in the delinquent tax payers list.
Through the auction sales, the PTO targeted to collect at least 90 percent of both current and previous delinquencies.
This means all collectibles regardless of the amount due will be subjected for auction.
“If the owners don't want their properties to be auctioned, they should visit our office because the province offers a compromise agreement that may entitle them to a full 25-percent discount of their delinquencies," she said.
But after the auction sale, Beltran cited that no compromise agreements would be given and all pending delinquencies would be demanded to be paid in full by the owner.
The PTO has intensified its campaign on real property tax collection to help increase the local government's income.
Earlier this month, the PTO conducted seminar-workshops among barangay officials of Banga town.
The participants — which include barangay chairs, the barangay councils' finance heads, barangay treasurers and bookkeeppers — were briefed about their obligations and their role in the collection of taxes.
“We reminded them that 25 percent of the real property taxes go to their barangays. With this, they should play a bigger role in the collection," Beltran said. ( Allen V. Estabillo / MindaNews)