Mayors? Negative Or Positive

[oscartamaguchiblackface]

I agree. There is no need to pass a law exempting land owners from paying realty tax but there is a law that should be repealed that protects squatters which is the Lina Law.

 

Yeah that stupid Lina Law.

[sonnyt111]

What I can't understand is that many lawmakers are themselves owners of real property. You'd think they'd either repeal that stupid LIna law or enact a new law exempting property owners whose lands are infested with squatters from paying property or realty tax.

 

These legislators will not be in politics forever. They should think ahead and realize they (or their families) may one day become victims of squatters themselves.

[sonnyt111]

With regards to the streets in QC being parked on my jeepneys, Manila is also a city where jeepneys park. Sidecar drivers counterflow on a couple of main roads of Manila.

I think one of the reasons many side streets are now full of parked vehicles is because of the coding scheme they implemented many years ago. The assumption of authorities when they first implemented this scheme was that owners of vehicles would take public transportation on the day their vehicle is banned from the road.

They failed to take into account that the middle class has a lot of money to burn, courtesy of their OFW relatives.

 

So authorities got it wrong. Existing car owners bought one, two, maybe three additional cars (one for each member of the family). The problem is there's no place to park these additional vehicles so these car owners parked their newly acquired vehicles on the side streets near their residences. Now side streets, are jammed with parked vehicles. Did the coding scheme lessen the volume of private vehicles on the road? No. The total number of vehicles in Metro Manila even rose. Those that are banned now occupy side-streets.

 

This is my observation. Others may have a different take on the effectiveness of the coding scheme. I know that in certain villages, roads are now extremely congested with parked vehicles. In the past, these roads were empty.

 

For me the coding scheme is another example of an idea that wasn't thought through properly. Assumptions were dead wrong. The opposite effect occured.

Edited February 1, 2013 by sonnyt111

[Bugatti Veyron]

I agree. There is no need to pass a law exempting land owners from paying realty tax but there is a law that should be repealed that protects squatters which is the Lina Law.

 

I think another mayor who's bending backward for squatters is Herbert "Bistek" Bautista.

[maxiev]

I think another mayor who's bending backward for squatters is Herbert "Bistek" Bautista.

There was a violent demolition reported on the news this evening in Payatas, Quezon City. Wasn't sure about details of the demolition but several people got hurt. So maybe the perception that Herbert Bautista is coddling squatters may be inaccurate after all.

[oscartamaguchiblackface]

I noticed that there seem to be more squatter evictions today than in previous years. Could property owners be fighting back by paying judges and local government executives to get their land back? Just wondering.....

[maxiev]

I agree. There is no need to pass a law exempting land owners from paying realty tax but there is a law that should be repealed that protects squatters which is the Lina Law.

In the event the Lina law isn't repealed, the next best thing would be to exempt land owners from paying realty tax on properties that are squatter infested. Local governments which coddle squatters will all of a sudden be without much needed realty tax revenue. What good are the squatters' votes if the local government head (ie. mayor) finds his city does not have any funds because land owners are exempted from paying their realty taxes?

Edited February 9, 2013 by maxiev

[maxiev]

You may have wanted to say "exempt land owners from paying realty tax in squatter-infested areas" because land owners have their own properties.

Ha ha ha. I thought that's what I said. Or perhaps a better way of putting is "exempt land owners from paying realty taxes on squatter-infested properties they own...." I don't think it gets any clearer than this.

[sonnyt111]

nick fury, on 10 February 2013 - 10:55 AM, said:

 

You may have wanted to say "exempt land owners from paying realty tax in squatter-infested areas" because land owners have their own properties.

 

Ha ha ha. I thought that's what I said. Or perhaps a better way of putting is "exempt land owners from paying realty taxes on squatter-infested properties they own...." I don't think it gets any clearer than this.

 

I think this is all a matter of semantics.

[maxiev]

Exactly

Touche!!

[maxiev]

I was merely agreeing.

Yeah I new you were bro. He he he. Peace!

[maxiev]

It may seem extravagant, but I wish they do a complete restoration/upgrade of Manila City Hall. It's such an eyesore and whenever I pass by it, I cannot help but to shake my head in shame...

Being the capital of the Philippies, Manila should be restored to its former glory. Not just City Hall but downtown Manila as well. The Roxas Blvd-Rizal Park- Intramuros areas are ok but other sections of the city are due for a make-over.

[Bugatti Veyron]

It seems dynasties are most prominent on the local government level. Good case in point is Mayor Binay and his family. The Binay family has been governing Makati since 1986. If it isn't Jojo Binay who's mayor, it's his wife. Then him again, then his son, etc. Now he's vice president and by the looks of it, he's eyeing the presidency in 2016.

Edited February 18, 2013 by Bugatti Veyron

[sonnyt111]

It seems dynasties are most prominent on the local government level. Good case in point is Mayor Binay and his family. The Binay family has been governing Makati since 1986. If it isn't Jojo Binay who's mayor, it's his wife. Then him again, then his son, etc. Now he's vice president and by the looks of it, he's eyeing the presidency in 2016.

 

There are many political families who have family members in practically all levels of government. Political dynasties are a reality just as corruption is. I suppose where you find political dynasties, you'll also find corruption. Perhaps if political dynasties are banned by an enabling law, the incidence of corruption may decrease. Then again, the successor of a mayor who belongs to a political dynasty may himself/herself be as corrupt if not more corrupt than his/her predecessor.

 

So on second thought, elimination of political dynasties may not be a viable solution to eliminating corruption.

[maxiev]

Actually I beleive it's easier to engage in corruption within local governements than it is on the national government level. The reason being that national leaders (eg. president, senators ,etc.) are under a microscope so to speak. Very close scrutiny by the media makes it difficult (though not impossible) for national leaders to engage in shady deals. In contrast, little attention is focused on local executives who may be involved in anything from grave abuse of authority all the way to illegal numbers rackets (eg. jueteng). In large cities like Makati, Mandaluyong, Quezon City, huge amounts generated by real estate taxes may be subject to pilferage by local executives with little public scrutiny. To ensure silence among the thieves, the wealth is shared among themselves, albeit proportionately depending on local executive's rank. Of course, mayors will get the largest slice of the pie. Councillors, barangay captains and kagawads will get their share though much smaller than that of the mayor and vice mayor. This silence will make auditing and investigating these people very difficult.

 

GMA and Erap realized this fact much too late.