THE Office of the President has forwarded the administrative complaint filed against former Bacolod City Mayor Monico Puentevella to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) as investigating authority.
The grave abuse of authority and gross neglect of duty complaint was lodged by Samuel Montoyo, chairman of Bacolod Save Movement, on December 16, 2016 related to the alleged collection of real property tax (RPT) pursuant to an ordinance declared null and void in resolution dated February 18, 2015 of the Department of Justice.
Montoyo on Sunday, August 6, said he received last week the order was signed by Ryan Alvin Acosta, Acting Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs.
The order dated July 12, 2017 stated that considering that the parties have already complied with the Office’s Order dated March 2017, “let the records of the case be forwarded to the DILG, as investigating authority, for its appropriate action pursuant to Section 1, Rule 5 of Administrative Order (AO) 23 Series of 1992, as amended by AO 159 series of 1994, and AO 66 Series of 1999.”
On March 9, Acosta ordered Puentevella to submit within 15 days his verified answer, not a motion to dismiss, on the complaint filed by Montoyo.
Montoyo said the complaint was filed during the term of former President Benigno Aquino III, but it was not resolved.
He said that in November 2014, Puentevella signed into law City Ordinance 08-14-700 that increases the land tax in Bacolod ranging from the rate of no less than 300 percent up to 1,600 percent.
