CH WON’T SETTLE CASES VS. FIRMS

Osmeña says Cebu City is not for sale during DOJ’s hearing on the tax evasion cases against BDO and SM.

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said he is not willing to settle the tax evasion cases that the City Government filed against two branches of BDO Unibank and SM Prime Holdings Inc (SMPHI).

Osmeña attended the preliminary hearing for the cases before the Department of Justice yesterday. He was accompanied by City Hall lawyers Joseph Bernaldez, Eleodoro Diaz, Bernard Inocentes Garcia and Jeff Mikol Opay.

In his Facebook post, the mayor said he was asked by the prosecutor if he was willing to settle the cases.

“My answer was no. Cebu City is not for sale and the Cebuanos do not have a price. They will not find ways...not while I am still here,” Osmeña said.

The management of the SMPHI opted not to issue a statement when asked for comment about the matter.

Osmeña also reiterated his reservations yesterday on the order of Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre asking the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office to inhibit themselves from handling the case.

Aguirre, in his Department Order No. 227 dated April 6, 2017, directed the prosecutor’s office to inhibit themselves and cease conducting the preliminary investigation of the case that the City filed against BDO, in response to the bank’s request.

Last November, Osmeña filed criminal complaints against four officials of SMPHI for allegedly misrepresenting the size of its SM Seaside City building in the South Road Properties to reduce its tax obligations to the City Government amounting to about P23 million.

Early this year, Osmeña also filed a criminal complaint before the Office of the Cebu City Prosecutor against the BDO branches on Magallanes-Plaridel and Osmeña Blvd. for allegedly failing to declare their correct gross annual income. /