NIA admits no funds to pay property taxes of Casecnan Dam

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya — The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) admitted it has no funds to pay real property taxes due this province in connection with the operation of the multi-million-peso Casecnan Multi-purpose Irrigation and Power Project (CMIPP) here.

Lawyer Genever Dionio, NIA central office director, said their office lacks the financial capability to pay the P250 million real property tax this province has been demanding for the operation of the US-owned power and energy firm in Mt. Alfonso Castañeda town.

"We want to pay you, but we can’t do so. We are a losing corporation. Our limited funds are only for the maintenance and rehabilitation of irrigation facilities," said Dionio in last week’s meeting here, which was also attended by officials of the Department of Finance (DoF) and the California Energy (Cal-Energy), which owns and operates the $10.5 million CMIPP.

The provincial government facilitated the meeting in an attempt to come up with a ‘win-win settlement’ to the unsettled financial obligation of Cal-Energy.

Gov. Luisa Lloren-Cuaresma, who co-presided the meeting with Vice Gov. Jose Gambito, ordered the imposition of administrative sanctions against the CMIPP, including its possible closure as a result of the firm’s non-payment of its tax obligations.

"Enough of these meetings. I am not a lawyer, but the local government code explicitly states that we have to collect what is due us. If you can’t settle your obligations, then let’s close the project," she said.

Cuaresma ordered the provincial treasurer’s office, provincial legal office and provincial assessor’s office to start as soon as possible the conduct of administrative proceedings against Cal-Energy and impose the appropriate sanctions, including foreclosure of its project here.

She said the province would not hesitate to serve a warrant of levy against the foreign firm, which means that all the properties and facilities of the CMIPP here would be foreclosed in favor of the province.

The governor’s strongly worded statement to shut down the CMIPP came after Cal-Energy and NIA dared the provincial government to just settle the issue in court.

Lawyer Linda Castillo, head of the Cal-Energy-Casecnan’s legal and corporate affairs, said that the US firm is willing to pay its tax obligations and that they have existing Memorandum of Agreement with the NIA in connection with the payment of CMIPP’s real property tax here. Under the MOA, she said, the NIA, being the operator of the CMIPP’s irrigation component, should be the one to pay the taxes.

But Dionio said the NIA has no appropriate funds if the burden of paying it would, indeed be passed on to them. — Charlie Lagasca