Former Sarangani Town Mayor Guilty Over Illegal Charging Of Sticker Fee
SARANGANI TOWN MAYOR – Aniceto Lopez Jr., the former mayor of Maasim town, Sarangani, is found guilty over illegal charging of sticker fee.
According to a report from Manila Bulletin, the mayor, along with Municipal Treasurer Moises Magallona Jr., have been found guilty by the Sandiganbayan Sixth Division over the illegal exaction for the illegal charging of sticker fees way back in the year 2005.
The two were convicted for violating Article 213, paragraph (2), sub-paragraph (a) of the Revised Penal Code on Illegal Exaction.
The suspects were sentenced to suffer imprisonment of two years, four months and one day of prison correctional as minimum to eight years of prisonmayor as maximum for each of their charges, with perpetual disqualification from holding any public office. They were also fined with P6,000.
They were entrusted with the collection of taxes, licenses, fees and other imposts. However, they demanded and collected P75 per sticker fee. This was during the registration of motorboats and fishing boats from the first six months of 2005. Sticker fee is not authorized under Municipal Tax Ordinance No. 04-003.
The prosecution offered a memorandum during the trial which was signed by Lopez Jr. The memorandum mandated the imposition of fees for official sticker. The same memorandum was used by Magallona to collect the said sticker fees.
Based on the report, the prosecution also offered Municipal Tax Ordinance No. 04-003, which states that the municipality has no authority to impose sticker fees from fisherfolks.
Magallona said on his part that the Municipal Tax Ordinance No. 04-003 was not yet in effect during the time the said fees were collected.
The anti-graft court said, however that the effectivity date of the ordinance is of no moment since there is no ordinance that was implemented to allow the collection of sticker fees. The suspects also failed to issue proper receipts for the sticker fees that were collected.
The decision was penned by Associate Justice Kevin Narce Vivero with the concurrence of Sixth Division Chairperson Sarah Jane Fernandez and Associate Justice Karl Miranda.
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