DOJ Opinion No. 001, s. 2000

DOJ OPINION NO. 001 , s. 2000 January 4, 2000 Hon. Joseph A. Santiago Commissioner National Telecommunications Commission BIR Road, East Triangle, Diliman Quezon City Sir : The opinion of this Department is requested on the query stated therein relating to the interpretation of the provisions of Article 5 of Presidential Decree No. 1620 (Granting to the International Rice Research Institute [IRRI] the Status, Prerogatives, Privileges and Immunities of an International Organization) which, insofar as pertinent, provide: cdll "ARTICLE 5 Taxation and Customs "1. The provisions of existing laws or ordinances to the contrary notwithstanding, the Institute, or its successors, shall be exempt from the payment of gifts, franchise, specific, percentage, real property, exchange, import, export and all other taxes provided under existing laws or ordinances. This exemption shall extend to goods imported and owned by the Institute to be leased or used by members of its staff ." (P.D. No. 1620) (emphasis ours) Specifically, the query is whether or not exemption from payment of radio license fees is necessarily included in the above-quoted legal provision. The query, it appears, is raised in connection with the request of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), citing said provision of P.D. No. 1620, for exemption from payment of radio license fees. The query is resolved in the negative. The Supreme Court had occasion to rule on the meaning and difference of "tax" and "license fee", to wit: "The term 'tax' applies-generally speaking to all kinds of exactions which become public funds. The term is often loosely used to include levies for revenue as well as for regulatory purposes. Thus, license fees are commonly called taxes. Legally speaking, however, license fee is a legal concept quite distinct from tax; the former is imposed in the exercise of police power for purposes of regulation, while the latter is imposed under the taxing power for purposes of raising revenues." (Compania General de Tabacos de Filipinas vs. City of Manila, et al., 8 SCRA 367, 370 [118 Phil. 380, 3831, citing McQuillin, Municipal Corporations, Vol. 9, 3rd Ed., p. 26, see also, Victorias Milling Co., Inc. vs. Mun. Victorias, Negros Occidental, 25 SCRA 192, 201) xxx xxx xxx "The term 'license tax' or 'license fee' implies an imposition or exaction on the right to use or dispose of a property, to pursue a business, occupation or calling, or to exercise a privilege." (Villanueva vs. Iloilo City, 26 SCRA 578, 587, citing 33 Am. Jur. 325-326). Evidently, while the words "tax" and "license fee" are, generally, interchangeable, in legal parlance, one is different from the other: the first is revenue-raising, the other regulatory; one relates to the exercise of a right or privilege and the other to the goods or the property itself. Applied to the instant case, it appears indubitable that the exemption granted under the earlier-quoted provisions of Article 5 of P.D. No. 1620 is limited to the taxes on goods or property imported/owned by the IRRI and does not refer to exactions on the exercise of a right or privilege. The decree is clear enough such that interpretation is no longer necessary; only application. The settled rule of statutory construction states that when the law speaks in clear and categorical language, there is no room for interpretation. There is only room for application (Prov. Board of Cebu vs. Presiding Judge of Cebu Court of First Instance, Branch IV, 171 SCRA 1, 9; Aparri vs. Court of Appeals, 127 SCRA 231; Sec. of Justice Opn. Nos. 142 and 44, s. 1985, citing cases). The foregoing, notwithstanding, it may be stated that insofar as the issue relates to the IRRI, that Office should take into consideration that apart from its recognition by the Philippine Government as an "international organization" with "all the immunities normally accorded to international organizations of a universal character" (Arts. 1 and 2, P.D. No. 1620), IRRI is also specifically granted the following privileges/immunities, to wit: "ARTICLE 4 "1. The Institute shall enjoy, for its communications, treatment not less favorable than that accorded to other international institutions and to diplomatic missions in the Philippines especially in the matter of priorities, rates, and charges for mail, telegraphs and other communications." P.D. No. 1620). Very truly yours, (SGD.) JUSTICE SERAFIN R. CUEVAS Secretary