Through official correspondences, Roxas and Company, Inc. (RCI) censured Nasugbu Mayor Antonio Jose Barcelon for issuing inaccurate and “malicious” statements against the publicly-listed firm, and notified him about the possibility of facing legal action for doing so.
In two separate letters addressed to the mayor’s office, RCI refuted Barcelon’s earlier claims that were posted on his official social media accounts, divulged to media, and even disseminated via signed letters addressed to the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and RCI’s board of directors.
The mayor alleged that RCI had unpaid real property tax (RPT) dues to the city, a claim which the company denounced as “not only outright malicious, but lacks basis in fact and in law.”
Apart from “never receiving any official statement of account, notice, billing, or even an appraisal from the Nasugbu municipal government or the Batangas provincial government”, RCI pointed out that the properties with unpaid RPT “were those previously distributed to agricultural reform beneficiaries, thereby divesting RCI with possession and control over the same.”
RCI further explained that the company has been “deprived of possession, control, and has not been enjoying some of these properties despite the clear pronouncement by the Supreme Court nullifying the DAR proceedings and declaring the farmer beneficiaries as mere holders-in-trust.”
In the letter, RCI strongly reiterated its compliance with RPTs on its properties mortgaged with BPI. “This is clear from the records and the company does not take kindly to such statements which clearly aims to besmirch and tarnish the reputation and integrity of the company.”
Barcelon’s notice to the RCI board – which the company never received an official copy of before it circulated online, according to the letter – also carried a warning of a possible revocation of its business permit due to unpaid RPTs.
“(Barcelon) declared that our company supposedly has ‘unpaid real property taxes, to date’ without specifying the particular real properties with unpaid RPT, the date when these taxes became delinquent, as well as the period covered by these taxes,” RCI pointed out.
The company tagged Barcelon’s actions as “a clear form of harassment,” and set the record straight that “RCI only has landholdings in the area, and has no existing business permit in the municipality.”
RCI demanded that Barcelon contact BPI within seven days and retract his allegations, or face the possibility of legal action. The company, moreover, also offered their cooperation to settle any more issues and avoid confusion in the future.
