PARANAQUE City Mayor Edwin Olivarez has recognized the city’s top business and realty taxpayers that helped laid out numerous projects that benefit the majority of residents during a simple awarding ceremony at the city hall.
The 10 outstanding business taxpayers are: Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment; Zuellig Pharma Corporation; Mondelez Philippines Inc.; Johnson and Johnson Phils. Inc.; Coca-Cola Beverages Phils. Inc.; New Oriental Club 88 Corp.; Golden Arches Developers Inc.; DMCI Project Developers Inc.; Super Shopping Market Inc.; and Meralco Resorts Leisure Corp.
The top 10 real estate taxpayers include the Eagle One Landholdings Inc.; Belle Corp.; SM Prime Holdings Inc.; DM Wenceslao; Ayala Land Inc.; Bloomberry Resorts; Manila Development Co.; Manila Bayshore Property Holdings; Nayong Pilipino; and Allegro Microsystem Phils Realty Corp.
Olivarez personally awarded plaques of appreciation to all the top taxpayers.
Eagle One is the local affiliate of Universal Entertainment Corp. and owns the site for the casino project in Entertainment City, while the casino license is under the name of Okada’s Tiger Resorts.
Belle Corp. is the gaming and property unit of the Sy family and sister company of SM Investment Corp.
On the other hand, SM Prime Holdings, Inc. is the country’s biggest mall developer and operator. The company owned SM Supermalls — 74 in the country and seven in China. It has three malls in Paranaque namely SM Sucat, SM BF and SM Bicutan.
Olivarez said the huge developments in Entertainment City, a strip of casinos, world-class hotels, shopping and leisure destinations facing Manila Bay, significantly contributed the biggest chunk to the local government’s revenue collection for last year.
“Because of the participation of business sector and real estate owners by paying their taxes promptly and religiously, the city is now financially stable and actively implementing infrastructure projects that would benefit millions of Paranaqueños in the future,” Mayor Olivarez said.
He also assured residents that the money from the taxes paid by the businesses and realtors will be used to benefit them through the creation of more jobs, delivering basic services and more business opportunities.
Olivarez thanked lawyer Melanie Soriano-Malaya, city’s Business Permit and Licensing Office chief and city treasurer Anthony Pulmano for their dedication, hard work and helping the city rise from the ashes when the city was able to pay the multi-million debts he inherited from the past administration.
Soriano-Malaya informed the mayor that the BPLO was able to hit the P2.8 billion business tax collection target last year while the 2020 business tax collection target amounting to P3.2 billion was already collected as of the end October.
She lauded the local and foreign investors for sincerely and continuously paying their taxes on time despite the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and difficulties in their sector this year.
