ABOITIZ POWER CORP. said Monday that its subsidiary Luzon Hydro Corp. (LHC) had filed another petition to stop the Municipality of Alilem, Ilocos Sur from auctioning off its real properties.
It said the filing of a second petition for prohibition and mandamus, with a request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and preliminary injunction, came after the subsidiary received a notice of real property tax (RPT) delinquency from the town treasurer to collect P82,249,235.
The unpaid RPT and accrued penalties for seven properties cover the period from 2004 to September 2019.
“The Municipal Treasurer then issued a notice of publication and auction sale covering five of the seven real properties of LHC,” AboitizPower said.
The new notice came after a disclosure from AboitizPower on Nov. 25 on the filing of LHC of its first petition seeking to enjoin the municipal treasurer from auctioning the first batch of its properties.
The listed energy company said LHC filed its latest petition to challenge the correctness of the amount assessed as RPT delinquency and to prevent the auction sale of the assets covered by the warrants of levy issued by the municipal treasurer.
“The action will seek the enforcement of the executive orders issued by the Office of the President directing the reduction of RPT on property, machinery and equipment actually and directly used by Independent Power Producers (IPPs) under Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contracts (however denominated), and condoning related RPT interest and penalties,” it said.
It said after LHC’s receipt of Alilem’s notice of RPT delinquency, the unit has a standing offer to the provincial government of Ilocos Sur that it is willing to pay RPT computed in accordance with the provisions of Executive Order No. 60, series of 2018. The tender of payment was rejected.
EO 60 allows the reduction and condonation of real property taxes and penalties assessed on power generation facilities of independent power producers under BOT contracts.
The reduction and condonation covers liabilities for real property tax, including special levies accruing to the special education fund for calendar year 2017 and prior years.
AboitizPower said the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. also issued a letter to the Municipality of Alilem urging it to reconsider the auction of the levied assets, in consideration of the ownership rights and interest of the government over the levied assets.
On Monday, AboitizPower fell 4.21% to P33. — Victor V. Saulon
