Month: November 2019

Remember how we used to be regaled with fairy tales about fantastical lands magically appearing in the middle of the sea overnight?  What’s a mere fairy tale to most of us is actually an ugly reality to some of our countrymen who literally see reclaimed lands rapidly growing in their midst with very little local government regulation.

Fortunately for the people of Bacoor, the Sangguniang Panlungsod passed City Ordinance No. 32-2019 on 7 October 2019 one of the purposes of which is to strictly regulate reclamation and back-filling activities within the City of Bacoor.  Also known as the 2018 Revised Expanded Real Estate Development Ordinance of the City of Bacoor, the said ordinance shall cover all juridical or natural persons applying for permits, clearances, or certificates related to any residential, commercial, or industrial land development or investment project or activity within the city including reclamation projects to be conducted in the municipal waters or waterways of Bacoor.

The ordinance aims to: (1) streamline the process of applying for the said permits, clearances, or certificates, (2) expedite the release of the said permits, clearances, or certificates, (3) improve the capability of the city government to implement the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) and Zoning Ordinance of the city, (4) assist informal settler/low-income families and small business owners in obtaining building permits, and (5) promote public welfare and safety.

Once approved by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, the said ordinance shall empower the city government to collect reclamation fees equivalent to P1,000 per square meter of the area subject of reclamation.  The revenues collected by virtue of the said ordinance shall be used to, among others, finance the cost of monitoring all the land development projects covered by the ordinance and to repair whatever environmental damage that the reclamation or back-filling activities might cause.

The ordinance shall also empower the city government to collect road maintenance fees from the owners, operators, or developers of residential subdivisions, condominiums, warehouses, commercial buildings and other enterprises such as malls and supermarkets that use trucks in the transportations of constructions supplies and materials, or other goods.  The road maintenance fees to be collected under the ordinance shall in turn be used to repair any damage inflicted on city roads by the said trucks as well as finance the cost of assigning additional traffic management and road maintenance personnel on various thoroughfares.

The development of any city or any country, for that matter, is impossible without the imposition of taxes.  This, in a nutshell, was the explanation given by the City Assessor, Mr. Jose Lito Mallare, when he was asked by members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod to justify his proposal to increase the assessment values of real properties within the City of Bacoor.

During a series of public hearings conducted by the city council in the presence of officers of homeowners associations, barangay officials, captains of industry, and professionals, Mr. Mallare consistently explained how vital the said hike in real estate values is to the continued growth of Bacoor.

According to Mr. Mallare, local government units are required by Section 219 of the Local Government Code of 1991 to increase real property values every three years.  However, city officials of Bacoor did not comply with the said law even after Bacoor became a city in 2012 due to concerns that city residents are not yet economically prepared to pay higher real property taxes.  Thus, Mr. Mallare requested the city council to pass an ordinance that will revise the assessment values of all real properties within the city.

With the marked improvement of the local economy in recent years and the significant increase in the income of families based in Bacoor, the Sangguniang Panlungsod decided that it is high time for the city government to finally comply with the said legal provision and accede to Mr. Mallare’s  request.

On 28 October 2019, the Sanggunian passed City Ordinance No. CO37-2019 (otherwise known as the 2019 General Revision and  Real Property Assessments Ordinance of Bacoor).  Under the said ordinance, the assessment rates to be used in assessing the value of residential, agricultural, commercial, and industrial lands and buildings within the city shall be reduced.

Land Type	Assessment Rates Before Approval of CO37-2019	Assessment Rates After Approval of CO37-2019	Difference
Residential	20%	10%	10% less
Agricultural	40%	20%	20% less
Commercial	50%	23%	27% less
Industrial	50%	30%	20% less

Despite the decrease in the proposed assessment rates, however, it is projected that real property taxes to be paid by real property owners in Bacoor will still increase due to the increase of real property values within the city brought about by the increase in zonal values made by the Bureau of Internal Revenues (BIR) and not by the city government.

CO37-2019 shall take effect in January 2020 due to its approval by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan on 4 November 2019.  Under the said ordinance, city officials or employees who conspire with taxpayers in order to obtain illegally reduced real property assessment values shall be required to pay a fine ranging from P1,000 to P5,000 and shall be imprisoned from 30 days to six months depending on the discretion of a judge.

After suspending the giving of free cinema admission benefits to senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs) residing in Bacoor City due to budgetary constraints, the Sangguniang Panlungsod decided to reinstate the Libreng Sine Program upon the request of City Mayor, Lani Mercado-Revilla.

 By unanimously passing City Ordinance No. CO 29-2019, the city council authorized the launching of a modified Libreng Sine Program for the benefit of senior citizens and PWD’s residing in Bacoor. 

Unlike the original Libreng Sine Program instituted during the administration of former Mayor Strike B. Revilla, the modified program may only be availed at cinemas within SM City Bacoor and SM Molino every Monday. Moreover, only senior citizens and PWDs with valid senior citizen and PWD IDs issued by the city government are qualified to enjoy the free cinema admission benefit mentioned above.

The modified Libreng Sine Ordinance was passed on 30 September 2019 by the Sanggunian and was approved by Mayor Mercado-Revilla on 2 October 2019.

If you have been in a situation where a loved one is at a hospital in Bacoor City and you need to get in touch with relatives abroad or you need to check the meaning of some esoteric medical terms being thrown at you by medical professionals whenever you ask them about your medical condition – fret no more.

                An ordinance passed by the Sangguniang Panlungsod will now require privately-owned and government-owned hospitals operating within Bacoor to provide free internet and wi-fi services to all patients confined or being treated in the said health facilities and to their visitors.

                Also known as the Free Hospital Wi-Fi Ordinance of the City of Bacoor, City Ordinance No. CO25-2019 was approved by the Sanggunian on 2 September 2019 and would provide the following penalties against the hospital director or medical director of any hospital that violates it:

1st Offense	Written warning and P1,000 fine
2nd Offense	P3,000 fine
3rd Offense	P5,000 fine
4th Offense	P5,000 fine for everyday that the ordinance has been violated

                The said ordinance aims to facilitate the free flow of information, enhance the quality of customer service in hospitals, and improve the delivery of emergency medical services to the public.  The said ordinance shall take effect after it is approved by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

In an effort to further improve the capability of the city government to provide emergency services and act on complaints from the public, the Sangguniang Panlungsod unanimously approved City Ordinance No. CO 34-2019 on 14 October 2019.

Also known as the ALERT 161 Ordinance of the City of Bacoor, the said legislative measure aims to enhance the capability of the city government to respond to emergency situations and to resolve complaints by members of the public, increase community involvement in disaster risk reduction and management, and promote public order and safety.

Under the ordinance, people in need of emergency assistance or who wants to file a complaint against any city government official or employee may dial 161 on their landlines or mobile phones and expect immediate feedback from personnel of the Bacoor Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (BDRRMO), Philippine National Police (PNP), and Bureau of Fire Prevention (BFP) who were duly trained to handle such calls.  Designed to mimic the capabilities of the famed 911 emergency response system, Alert 161 shall require callers to pay ten pesos per call in order to dissuade prank calling as well as to augment the funds of the city government for the said program.

Prank callers and the managers of hospitals that fail to respond to calls for assistance by Alert 161 personnel shall be held liable under the said ordinance.