The Baguio City Council has approved on second reading and for publication a proposed ordinance that will automatically extend the payment for deadline for local taxes, charges, and fees to the next working day when the due date falls on a weekend, holiday, or a day when the City Government offices are suspended due to inclement weather.
Authored by Councilor Leandro Yangot Jr., the proposed ordinance will cover all taxes, regulatory fees, service fees, charges, and other impositions collected by the City Government under the Baguio City Revenue Code and other existing or future revenue ordinances. It will apply regardless of whether payments are made annually, quarterly, monthly, or under any other schedule, and whether collections are made by the City Treasurer’s Office or another authorized City office or officer.
Under the measure, when a payment due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, regular or special non-working holiday, or a day when City Government offices are officially suspended due to inclement weather or similar circumstances, the deadline will automatically move to the next working day. No separate declaration, resolution, or issuance will be required for the extension.
Payment made on the next working day will be considered timely and will not be subject to surcharges, interest, or other penalties that would otherwise apply because of the intervening non-working day. This will also apply when the suspension of work due to inclement weather is announced after the start of official business hours on the due date.
The extension will continue in cases of successive non-working days. If the day immediately following the original due date is also a non-working day or a day when work is suspended due to inclement weather, the deadline will continue to move until the actual next working day when the concerned City collecting office resumes operations.
The measure will likewise extend the final day of any period granted for advance or prompt payment discounts when that day falls on a non-working day or weather-related work suspension. Payment made on the next working day will still qualify for the corresponding discount as if it had been paid within the original discount period.
The ordinance will not reduce, withdraw, or adversely affect any existing discount, tax relief, or other benefit granted to taxpayers under the Baguio City Revenue Code, Republic Act No. 7160, or other existing City ordinances or issuances.
For public information, the City Treasury Office, in coordination with the Public Information Office and the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, will, as far as practicable, issue notices through the official City website and social media accounts and post announcements at City Hall and satellite collection offices whenever a payment deadline is affected by a non-working day or weather-related suspension.
The City Treasurer, in coordination with the City Legal Office, may issue supplemental guidelines necessary for the effective implementation of the ordinance.
The proposed ordinance will undergo stakeholder consultations and city council deliberations as the next legislative steps. **Jordan G. Habbiling
