Courts junk LANECO cases
Tubod, Lanao del Norte – Of the five cases filed by the Lanao Norte Electric Cooperative (LANECO) against the Provincial Government of Lanao del Norte (PGLDN), three cases have already been dismissed by the courts.
Two cases were dismissed by the Court of Appeals and one case was dismissed by the Regional Trial Court Branch 7 situated in Tubod, this province.
During an interview with Provincial Legal Officer Jonathan Puno, it was learned that the dismissed cases sought to exempt LANECO from paying their real property taxes and franchise taxes to PGLDN allegedly due to legal inadequacies.
“We are very pleased that the courts acknowledged the evidence and arguments we presented and rendered a favorable decision for the provincial government on these three cases. So all of these are already considered as dismissed with finality”, expressed Attorney Puno.
When the three cases were filed in Manila last 2008, the Lanao del Norte LGU had a collectible real property tax from LANECO amounting to P31-million pesos.
As of presstime, the Provincial Legal Office continues to work doubly hard to dismiss the two remaining cases now at the Supreme Court to enable the provincial government to finally collect the multi-million real property and franchise taxes due from LANECO.
The funds collected from LANECO will help further improve the delivery of social services to the people of Lanao del Norte particularly its indigent residents and marginalized sectors. VNL/PIO-LDN
