Reorganization of Tax Collection and Assessment Machinery in the Provinces, Municipalities and Cities

March 18, 1985

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 1019

REORGANIZING THE TAX COLLECTION AND ASSESSMENT MACHINERY IN THE PROVINCES, MUNICIPALITIES AND CITIES, AND OTHER PURPOSES

WHEREAS, there have been numerous requests from people in the provinces and towns proclaimed as calamity areas to allow them temporary respite from the payment of the increase in real property taxes;

WHEREAS, there is a resolution in the Batasang Pambansa asking the President of the Philippines to suspend the accrual of real property taxes based on the general revision of real property assessments undertaken from July 1, 1981 of June 30, 1985;

WHEREAS, the caucus of the KBL has unanimously endorsed to the President the approval of the requests contained in said Batasang Pambansa resolution;

WHEREAS, official reports indicate that a mere 57% of the collectible real property taxes is actually collected;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the continuing authority under Presidential Decree No. 1416 to reorganize the administrative structure of the national government and other powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:

SECTION 1. The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Local Government shall immediately establish a more efficient tax collecting system to strengthen the present machinery in order to maximize the collection of taxes on the province, municipality or city levels;

SECTION 2. For the above purpose, responsibilities now being performed by the province, municipality or city treasurers which do not pertain directly to treasury service, especially tax collection, shall be removed from said treasurers in order to enable them to concentrate on the collection of taxes.

SECTION 3. The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Local Government shall likewise revise and strengthen the present tax assessment process in order to obtain a more efficient, equitable and realistic system.

SECTION 4. The present distribution of shares from the real property tax revenues among the provinces and municipalities or cities, namely, 45% to the province, 45% to the municipality or city, and 10% for the barangay, shall be maintained. However, the share of the barangays may be augmented by the provinces and municipalities or cities by giving the former such amounts as they may determine as an incentive for the barangays to participate actively in the collection of real property taxes.

SECTION 5. The increase in real property taxes resulting from the revised real property assessments as provided for under Section 21 of Presidential Decree No. 464, as amended by Presidential Decree No. 1621, shall be collected beginning January 1, 1988 instead of January 1, 1985 in order to enable the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Local Government to establish the new systems of tax collection and assessment provided herein and in order to alleviate the condition of the people, including real property owners, as a result of temporary economic difficulties.

SECTION 6. Payments already made pursuant to the revised real property assessments shall be credited to future real property taxes due on the same property.

SECTION 7. This Order shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 18th day of April, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five.

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 81 No. 16 page 1603 on April 22, 1985.