DOJ Opinion No. 168, s. 1988

DOJ OPINION NO. 168 , s. 1988 August 17, 1988 Mayor Brigido R. Simon, Jr. Office of the City Mayor Quezon City Sir : This refers to your query on how the Quezon City government can collect from the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) the realty taxes due on the latters property located within the city. LLpr You state the Quezon City government filed with the MWSS a claim for back taxes on its real property within Quezon City for the period covering 1985 to the present; that MWSS contends however, that it is exempt from the payment of real property tax under its character (R.A. No. 6234, as amended) in relation to Section 40[a] of the Real Property Tax Code (P.D. No. 464, as amended), which exempts from taxation real property owned by the Philippine Government and any government-owned corporation when so exempted under its charter; that under P.D. No. 1931 dated June 11, 1984, all exemptions from taxes granted in favor of government-owned or controlled corporations were withdrawn; that on November 27, 1984, the Department of Finance, through Ministry Order No. 44-84, clarified the scope of P.D. No. 1931 by stating that said P.D. does not apply to exemptions provided in the Real Property Tax Code; and that, consequently, MWSS insists that it continues to enjoy its tax-exempt privilege under its charter. You now contend that, contrary to the aforesaid Ministry Order, the withdrawal of tax-exempt privileges by P.D. No. 1931 included government-owned or controlled corporations since these entities were the precise objects of said P.D.; besides, these privileges may be restored only in the manner and procedure prescribed in Section 2 and 3 of Ministry of finance Order No. 33-84, which includes favorable recommendation by the Fiscal Incentives Review Board, but MWSS failed to apply for such restoration. We deeply regret having to inform you at that we are constrained to decline opinion on your query for the reason that the Secretary of Justice, as Attorney-General, 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 departments and the chiefs of bureaus and offices of equivalent rank, on questions of law arising in the performance of their respective powers and duties. Accordingly, he has consistently refrained from rendering opinion on queries posed by other government officials including those of the local governments. In this connection, it is noted that under Section 188 of B.P. 337 (The Local Government Code), the city legal and all officer is the chief legal adviser of the city and all officers thereof, and as such, he shall, among others, give this opinion in writing, when requested by the mayor . . . upon any question relating to the city or the rights or duties of any city officer. Moreover, the resolution of the query would inevitably require an examination of the legality of an administrative order issued by the Department of Finance in the implementation of P.D. No. 1931. By policy and established precedents, this Department does not invariably pass upon the legal propriety of circulars and issuances of an agency or office primarily tasked with the enforcement of the law involved which in this case, the Department of Finance, is a co-equal and coordinate department of over which this Office has no revisory authority (Ops., Sec. of Justice., No. 22, s. 1977 and Nos. 9, and 137, s. 1987). prcd The foregoing notwithstanding, your attention is invited to the Section 1 of E.O. No. 93, dated December 17, 1986, which is pertinent to the instant matter and which provides: SECTION 1. The provisions of any general or special law to the contrary notwithstanding, all tax and duty incentives granted to government and private entities are hereby withdrawn, except: a) Those covered by the non-impairment clause of the Constitution; b) those conferred by effective international agreements to which the Government of the Republic of the Philippines is a signatory; c) those enjoyed by enterprises registered with; (i) the Board of Investments pursuant to the Presidential Decree No. 1781, as amended; (ii) the Export Processing Zone Authority, pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 66, as amended; (iii) the Philippine Veterans Investment Corporation Industrial Authority; pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 588, as amended; (d) those enjoyed by the copra making industry pursuant to the provisions of Letter of Instructions No. 1416; (e) those conferred under the four basic codes namely: (i) the Tariff and Customs code, as amended; (ii) the National Internal Revenue code, as amended; (iii) the Local Tax Code, as amended; (iv) the Real Property Tax Code, as amended; (f) those approved by the President upon the recommendation of at the Fiscal Incentives Review Board. (Emphasis ours) prcd Very truly yours, (SGD.) SEDFREY A. ORDOEZ Secretary of Justice