Bureau of Local Government Finance Opinion

November 24, 2000 BUREAU OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE OPINION Atty. Lincoln L. Tan, Jr. King Capuchino Tan & Associates 2/F Belman II Building Quezon Ave. corner Cordillera St. Quezon City S i r : This refers to your letter September 7, 2000, requesting, in behalf of your client, the Provident Tree Farms, Inc. (PTFI), the condonation or suspension of the real property taxes due on their real property (public forest land) located in Mahayahay, San Luis, Agusan del Sur. In this connection, attention is invited to our 1st Indorsement dated November 8, 2000, addressed thru the BLGF Regional Director, Caraga Region, to the Provincial Assessor of Agusan del Sur, with instructions, "to conduct an investigation/ocular inspection on the subject property being operated by the PTFI, in order to determine the veracity of the . . . allegations and thereafter, submit to this Bureau its comment and/or recommendations together with the copies of relevant documents within ten (10) days from receipt hereof." AEcTaS Very truly yours, (SGD.) BENJAMIN A. GERONIMO Executive Director 1st Indorsement November 8, 2000 Respectfully referred, thru the Regional Director for Local Government Finance, Department of Finance, Caraga Region, 2/F Aguilar Building, Pili Drive, Butuan City, to the Provincial Assessor of Agusan del Sur, the within letter dated September 7, 2000 of Atty. Lincoln L. Tan, Jr., King Capuchino Tan & Associates, 2/F Belman II Building, Quezon Avenue corner Cordillera St., Quezon City, requesting, in behalf of their client, the Provident Tree Farms, Inc. (PTFI), the condonation or suspension of the real property taxes due on the real property (public forest land) located in Mahayahay, San Luis, same province. The following facts were submitted, to wit: 1. The PTFI, a domestic corporation duly organized and existing under Philippine laws, was a grantee of the "right-to-operate" a plantation with an area of 20,770 has. of the subject public forest land for industrial tree plantation, a project by the government through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and covered by Industrial Forest Management Agreement No. 01 (IFMA-01) dated October 14, 1991; 2. The subject property has been assessed by the Municipal Assessor's Office of San Luis for taxation purposes starting 1994; 3. In 1995, a "cease-and-desist" order (CDO) was issued by the DENR for alleged violation of IFMA for which PTFI was allegedly constrained "to stop all operations" since February 27, 1995; 4. PTFI allegedly filed an action in court to compel DENR to lift the said CDO which remains pending up to the present; and 5. The said Provincial Assessor of Agusan del Sur had already declared PTFI as delinquent and demanded the immediate payment of the real property taxes due on its real properties notwithstanding the suspension of its operation. In this connection, and in order that appropriate action could be taken hereon, that Office is hereby requested to conduct an investigation/ocular inspection on the subject property being operated by the PTFI, in order to determine the veracity of the abovementioned allegations and thereafter, submit to this Bureau its comment and/or recommendations together with the copies of relevant documents within ten (10) days from receipt hereof. (SGD.) BENJAMIN A. GERONIMO Executive Director