Comment on BLGF's letters to the Municipal Assessor of Nabas, Aklan and Mr. Ulysses Mabasa

May 23, 2002 BUREAU OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE OPINION MEMORANDUM FOR : Undersecretary Juanita D. Amatong FROM : Assistant Secretary Emmanuel P. Bonoan SUBJECT : Comment on BLGF's letters to the Municipal Assessor of Nabas, Aklan and Mr. Ulysses Mabasa This refers to your request for comment on the letters addressed to the Municipal Assessor of Nabas, Aklan and Mr. Ulysses Mabasa. The letter to the Municipal Assessor is an enclosure to the letter for Mr. Mabasa. It appears that Mr. Mabasa had been in arrears in his payment for real property tax since 1990 as appearing in the Certification issued by the Municipal Treasurer due to the alleged "cancellation" of his tax declaration covering his lot. However, it was not shown as to when the "cancellation" of his tax declaration was made by the Municipal Assessor. We invite attention to the letter of Municipal Assessor Hilton Z. Talapian, dated October 5, 2001 stating that "Tax Declaration No. 7749, series of 1985 in the name of Narciso Castro is not cancelled . Only that it is not updated . . ." and requesting Mr. Mabasa to submit certain requirements. Also, attention should be given to the letter of the same assessor dated March 6, 2002 stating that Mr. Mabasa did not submit the documents required of him in the October 5, 2001 letter. Considering the above stated points, we suggest a re-drafting of the letter addressed to the Municipal Assessor and Mr. Mabasa to take into consideration these matters. Attached are the suggested redrafted letters. For your consideration. Mr. Ulysses C. Mabasa 1607 San Roque Ext. St. Roxas City S i r : This refers to your letter dated October 17, 2001 which the Department of Finance received on November 7, 2001 regarding the cancellation of your tax declaration (TD 7749) over Lot No. 8744. You represented that Lot No. 8744 with an aggregate area of 20,834 sq.m. situated in Brgy. Unidos, Nabas, Aklan is declared under the name of the late Narciso Castro ("Castro"). You also represented that the property was transferred to the Republic of the Philippines by the Municipal Assessor of Nabas, Aklan without any legal basis; and that when the heirs of Castro wanted to pay their real property tax, their payment was not accepted because of a technicality. We have written to the Provincial Assessor of Aklan and we were informed by the Municipal Assessor of Nabas that the subject tax declaration over Lot 8744 was not cancelled but merely partially cancelled during the LRM/RPTA Tax Mapping Project and that the issuance of tax declaration in the name of the Republic of the Philippines is unrelated to the tax declaration of Castro. Further, we were informed that the Municipal Assessor has instructed you to submit the following requirements in order to settle any dispute with respect to the area covered by the said tax declaration, to wit: 1. Updated tax receipts of payment up to 1990 of Tax Declaration No. 7794 of Narciso Castro; 2. Sworn Statement pursuant to Sec. 220 of R.A. No. 7160; and 3. Sketch Plan per actual survey with conformity by the adjoining owners attesting to the correctness of the survey. It was represented that up to now, you have not submitted the said requirements. IDAEHT We request you, therefore, to submit the requirements at the soonest possible time to the Municipal Assessor of Nabas to settle the matter expeditiously. Moreover, please take note of Article 250 of the Local Government Code of 1991 ("LGC") which laid down the rule that "payment of real property taxes shall first be applied to prior delinquencies, interest and penalties, if any, and only after said delinquencies are settled may tax payments be credited for the current period." Thus, any payment of real property tax will, if there are existing delinquencies on the property, be applied first on the prior delinquencies, its interests and penalties before the same may be applied for the current period. Very truly yours, (SGD.) JUANITA D. AMATONG Undersecretary and Officer-in-Charge, BLGF