Davide Mulls Filing Mandamus Vs. Medellin Mayor

Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III on Tuesday said he may file a mandamus against Medellin Town Mayor Ricky Ramirez for withholding the Capitol’s share of the town’s real property taxes.

Mandamus is a judicial remedy where a proper court orders any government subordinate court, corporation, or public official, to do or not to do some specific act which that body is obliged under law to do and which is in the nature of public duty, and in certain cases, one of a statutory duty.

“Kinahanglan mobayad, that’s his obligation under the law,” Davide said.

Under Section 271 of the Local Government Code, from the basic real property tax collected by a local government unit: 35 percent goes to the province.

Davide explained that the repair of the provincial roads and bridges in Medellin town is under the budget for post-Yolanda rehabilitation, which is still pending at the national government level.

“Part na sa Yolanda budget nga naa na sa Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery. Impatient tingali ni’ng mayora ni. Gusto diha-diha dayun mabuhat,” Davide said.

The province had submitted to the national government a P12.2-billion budget for the rehabilitation of 15 local government units in the north hit by last year’s typhoon Yolanda.

Ramirez earlier had ordered the town treasurer to withhold all remittances to the province until it had repaired all the provincial roads and bridges in Medellin.