Manila Standard Today
PRESIDENT Benigno C. Aquino III has the power to condone or reduce the real property tax, including interests for any year in any province or municipality within Metro Manila, the Department of Justice said.
The legal opinion may pave the way for the condonation of more than P6 billion in real property taxes that the Quezon provincial government is collecting from Team Energy, owner and operator of the 735-megawatt Pagbilao coal power plant.
In the opinion, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima agreed with the position of Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima that under Section 277 of the Local Government Code, the President may condone or reduce the real property tax, including interest for any year in any province or municipality within Metro Manila.
“There is no longer room for interpretation – only applications,” the Justice secretary stressed.
The Quezon provincial government earlier issued a warrant of levy on machineries and equipment of the Pagbilao power plant to collect unpaid real property taxes and interests totaling P6.1 billion, and an auction of the equipment last March 9.
Purisima argued that should the auction sale proceeded, it would trigger provisions in the Energy Conversion Agreement between Team Energy and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management which would eventually require the government to pay Team Energy all the fees it would have earned until the end of the cooperation period in 2025 which is estimated to reach P101 billion.
De Lima stressed that the power of the President to condone or reduce real property tax and interests is subject only to the limitation that it is being exercised “when public interest so requires.”
“The exercise of this power requires no concurrent action from either or both of the other twobranches of government as the Code itself expressly recognized the existence of said executive power,” she added. Rey E. Requejo
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