Hypocrisies of school owners in Dagupan City?

Lim vs. Duque?: At left is Dagupan City Mayor Benjamin S. Lim and Atty. Gonzalo Duque, owner of  Lyceum Northwestern University

Dagupan City Mayor Benjie S. Lim exposed the hypocrisies of the owners of educational institutions in the city recently when they appeared and aired their grievances at the City Council to exempt them to pay business tax and other fees to the city.

Some media men who interviewed the mayor were one in saying that Councilors Chito Samson, Karlo Reyna, and Dada Reyna should inhibited themselves on the deliberations of the exemption  as they are either part-owner or descendants of owners of the University of Luzon – one of the colleges that joined to ask for the exemption.

The mayor and some of the media people at the Mayor’s Office agreed that it seems the City Council is bent again to railroad this exemption-ordinance.

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Mayor Lim told us that he is going to veto this improbable ordinance.

He said that the statements of one of the complainants (Atty. Gonzalo Duque) that was quoted in this column before that Lyceum North-western University and other schools should not be levied taxes because they are linchpin of the local economy by bringing people to the city.

 Jesus Christ, this argument is patently ridiculous and manifestly illogical!

Thus this was what the answer of the mayor:

“In the same manner the trading company bring people here. The hotels also bring people here, di ba? The hospitals also bring people here. Hindi lang educational institutions. Class legislation iyan (in the Council) kaya hindi puedi. Dapat magkakaroon ng masusing public hearing. Kagaya ng nangyari kanina, pina-fast-break na naman ng SP (City Council the ordinance),” the mayor chuckled.

He said that in case the city gives exemption to these entities, it would be a precedence to other entities to follow suit.

Lim said that in case all schools are exempted because of the statute from the Council he is at a lost where would the city get its revenues it used to get from these taxpayers.

“Imagine, isang unibersidad  (University of Pangasinan) paid two million pesos plus ang binabayaran! Kung exempted lahat iyan ibig sabihin nawala ang P2.5 million, samantala iyung mga nag-hain ng resolution na ito (Lyceum North-western and University of Luzon particularly) wala  pang isandaang libo (they paid every year). Maski kaunti pa ang taxes na binabayaran nila kesa sa isang Dunkin Donut sa Downtown,” he chuckled again.

The mayor exposed how inconsistent one of the acrimonious owners of these institutions has been telling the public:

“Dati rati sinasabihan ng isang proponent diyan exempted sila. Ngayon, na pruwebahan hindi sila exempted. All we know, they are trying to get an exemption by virtue of an SP resolution for an ordinance ergo no exemption to talk about. Ano iyung exemption na sinasabi nila?”

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What these proprietors were bellyaching were sheer hypocrisies, my dear mayor! As this issue drags, the more these owners expose themselves to the public eye.

Keep the good work mayor, this is a combustible issue you and the people of Dagupan would surely win.

Enough of these hypocrisies!

  (You can read my previous columns at http://dagupenosnews.blogspot.com/)