ShareThisCEBU CITY – In the land of dancing prisoners and airline cabin crews, Philippine tax collectors have also caught the toe-tapping bug.
CEBU CITY TREASURER Ofelia Oliva (right) along with her staff perform in front of customers. (AFP)
An AFP report stated that hundreds of people now queue to pay their business and property taxes in Cebu, the country’s number-two city, with the added incentive of watching the staff shake their hips, said city treasurer Ofelia Oliva.
“We say to them, paying your taxes is no longer a burden,” Oliva, a grandmother who leads the dancing, told AFP.
She said daily local tax collections had risen 42.8 percent to five million pesos ($115,700) since Monday, when the 320-member staff launched the dance routine with pop star Shakira’s 2010 FIFA World Cup theme “Waka Waka”.
The twice-daily performances, one in mid-morning and another in the afternoon, now also include Earth Wind and Fire’s “Boogie Wonderland” and Mardi Gras-themed routines complete with colourful tribal costumes.
Oliva also told AFP she developed the shows following an order from city mayor Michael Rama.