DOJ Opinion No. 072, s. 1983

DOJ OPINION NO. 072 , s. 1983 May 4, 1983 Mr. Orlando L. Mina Deputy Provincial and Municipal Treasured Maddela, Quirino Sir : This refers to your request for opinion concerning the assessment of real property covered by Presidential Decree No. 705 ("The Revised Forestry Code"). You state that the Office of the Provincial Treasurer and the Office of the Provincial Assessor, Quirino Province, jointly conducted a "tax mapping operation and general revision of real properties in the Province of Quirino", including lands "which are not alienable and disposable contrary to Section 75" of P.D. No. 705, pursuant to the provisions of P.D. No. 1384 as implemented by Assessment Regulation No. 4-78 dated August 30, 1978 of the Ministry of Finance; that in the years 1980 and 1981, the Office of the Municipal Assessor issued tax declarations covering said properties and the corresponding Real Property Tax Order of Payment (RPTOP) pursuant to which taxes were paid to, and collected by, the Office of the Municipal Treasurer; that in 1982, the Office of the Municipal Assessor received a letter from the Director of the Bureau of Forest Development in Manila requesting the Municipal Assessor "to refrain/desist from issuing tax declarations to kaingeneros inside forest lands"; that in view of this, the Office of the Municipal Assessor has refused to issue RPTOPs for calendar years 1982 and 1983 without, however, recommending the cancellation of the tax declarations he had previously issued. Hence, you now pose the query as to whether these tax declarations shall be deemed cancelled or shall remain in full force and effect. This Office is constrained to refrain from expressing its views on your aforestated query for the following reasons: 1. Pursuant to law and settled precedents, the Minister of Justice renders opinion or gives legal advice only to the national government functionaries mentioned in Section 83 of the Revised Administrative Code, such as the heads of ministries and the chiefs of bureau and offices in the executive department, and then only on questions of law arising in the performance of their respective powers and functions. Accordingly, the Minister of Justice has in practice consistently declined to render opinion or give legal advice on queries posed by other national government officials, by officials of local governments, and by private parties. 2. The query involves the implementation of the assessment law and regulations which, by law, is the responsibility of the Ministry of Finance. As a matter of propriety and official courtesy, the Minister of Justice does not pass upon matters pertaining to the official cognizance of a coordinate office or agency. prcd 3. The provincial, city and municipal assessors as well as the provincial, city and municipal treasurers are officials of the Ministry of Finance. Problems arising in the course of the performance of their respective functions should properly be raised in the first instance before their Ministry Head, that is, the Minister of Finance who may, in cases involving a difficult question of law, in turn raise the issue for resolution to the Minister of Justice pursuant to the aforecited provision of Section 83 of the Revised Administrative Code. Very truly yours, (SGD.) RICARDO C. PUNO Minister of Justice