CRISTINA OLARITA TAX CASES 105-113

ii. Taxpayer’s Remedies

a. Action Assailing Validity of Tax Sale (Sec. 267)
b. Action Involving Ownership (Sec. 268)
c. Payment under Protest (Sec. 252)

SEC. 226. Local Board of Assessment Appeals. – Any owner or person having legal interest in the property who is not satisfied with the action of
the provincial, city or municipal assessor in the assessment of his property may, within sixty (60) days from the date of receipt of the written
notice of assessment, appeal to the Board of Assessment Appeals of the province or city by filing a petition under oath in the form prescribed
for the purpose, together with copies of the tax declarations and such affidavits or documents submitted in support of the appeal.

RA No. 7227, otherwise known as the Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992 | An Act Accelerating the Conversion of Military
Reservations Into Other Productive Uses, Creating the Bases Conversion and Development Authority for this Purpose, Providing Funds Therefor
and for Other Purposes.

Section 7,Rule V of the Rules of Procedure Before the LBAA

Section 7. Effect of Appeal on Collection of Taxes. – An appeal shall not suspend the collection of the corresponding realty taxes on the real
property subject of the appeal as assessed by the provincial, city or municipal assessor, without prejudice to subsequent adjustment depending
upon the outcome of the appeal. An appeal may be entertained but the hearing thereof shall be deferred until the corresponding taxes due on
the real property subject of the appeal shall have been paid under protest or the petitioner shall have given a surety bond , subject to the
following conditions:

(1) The amount of the bond must not be less than the total realty taxes and penalties due as assessed by the assessor nor more than
double said amount;
(2) The bond must be accompanied by a certification from the Insurance Commissioner (a) that the surety company is duly
authorized to issue such bond; (b) that the surety bond is approved by and registered with said Commission; and (c) that the amount
covered by the surety bond is within the writing capacity of the surety company; and
(3) The amount of the bond in excess of the surety company’s writing capacity, if any, must be covered by Reinsurance Binder, in
which case, a certification to this effect must likewise accompany the surety bond. (Underlining supplied)

Section 252 of RA No. 7160, also known as the LGC of 1991[14], categorically provides:

SEC. 252. Payment Under Protest. – (a) No protest shall be entertained unless the taxpayer first pays the tax. There shall be annotated on the
tax receipts the words “paid under protest.” The protest in writing must be filed within thirty (30) days from payment of the tax to the
provincial, city treasurer or municipal treasurer, in the case of a municipality within Metropolitan Manila Area, who shall decide the protest
within sixty (60) days from receipt.

(b) The tax or a portion thereof paid under protest, shall be held in trust by the treasurer concerned.

(c) In the event that the protest is finally decided in favor of the taxpayer, the amount or portion of the tax protested shall be
refunded to the protestant, or applied as tax credit against his existing or future tax liability.

(d) In the event that the protest is denied or upon the lapse of the sixty-day period prescribed in subparagraph (a), the taxpayer may
avail of the remedies as provided for in Chapter 3, Title Two, Book II of this Code. (Emphasis and underlining supplied)

Relevant thereto, the remedies referred to under Chapter 3, Title Two, Book II of RA No. 7160 or the LGC of 1991 are those provided for under
Sections 226 to 231. Significant provisions pertaining to the procedural and substantive aspects of appeal before the LBAA and CBAA, including
its effect on the payment of real property taxes, follow:

SEC. 226. Local Board of Assessment Appeals. – Any owner or person having legal interest in the property who is not satisfied with the action
of the provincial, city or municipal assessor in the assessment of his property may, within sixty (60) days from the date of receipt of the
written notice of assessment, appeal to the Board of Assessment Appeals of the province or city by filing a petition under oath in the form
prescribed for the purpose, together with copies of the tax declarations and such affidavits or documents submitted in support of the
appeal.

SEC. 229. Action by the Local Board of Assessment Appeals. – (a) The Board shall decide the appeal within one hundred twenty (120) days from
the date of receipt of such appeal. The Board, after hearing, shall render its decision based on substantial evidence or such relevant evidence on
record as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support the conclusion.

(b) In the exercise of its appellate jurisdiction, the Board shall have the powers to summon witnesses, administer oaths, conduct ocular
inspection, take depositions, and issue subpoena and subpoena duces tecum. The proceedings of the Board shall be conducted solely for the
purpose of ascertaining the facts without necessarily adhering to technical rules applicable in judicial proceedings.

(c) The secretary of the Board shall furnish the owner of the property or the person having legal interest therein and the provincial or city
assessor with a copy of the decision of the Board. In case the provincial or city assessor concurs in the revision or the assessment, it shall be his
CRISTINA OLARITA TAX CASES 105-113

duty to notify the owner of the property or the person having legal interest therein of such fact using the form prescribed for the purpose. The
owner of the property or the person having legal interest therein or the assessor who is not satisfied with the decision of the Board may, within
thirty (30) days after receipt of the decision of said Board, appeal to the Central Board of Assessment Appeals, as herein provided. The decision
of the Central Board shall be final and executory.

SEC. 231. Effect of Appeal on the Payment of Real Property Tax. – Appeal on assessments of real property made under the provisions of this
Code shall, in no case, suspend the collection of the corresponding realty taxes on the property involved as assessed by the provincial or city
assessor, without prejudice to subsequent adjustment depending upon the final outcome of the appeal.

105. Camp John Hay Development Corp. vs. CBAA, GR No. 169234, October 2, 2013.

The requirement of “payment under protest” is a condition sine qua non before a protest or an appeal
questioning the correctness of an assessment of real property tax may be entertained.

The restriction upon the power of courts to impeach tax assessment without a prior payment, under protest, of
the taxes assessed is consistent with the doctrine that taxes are the lifeblood of the nation and as such their
collection cannot be curtailed by injunction or any like action; otherwise, the state or, in this case, the local
government unit, shall be crippled in dispensing the needed services to the people, and its machinery gravely
disabled. (Meralco v. Barlis, 410 Phil. 167, 176-181 (2001))

Section 252 emphatically directs that the taxpayer/real property owner questioning the assessment should first pay the tax due before his
protest can be entertained. As a matter of fact, the words “paid under protest” shall be annotated on the tax receipts. Consequently, only after
such payment has been made by the taxpayer may he file a protest in writing (within thirty [30] days from said payment of tax) to the
provincial, city, or municipal treasurer, who shall decide the protest within sixty (60) days from its receipt. In no case is the local treasurer
obliged to entertain the protest unless the tax due has been paid.

Also, within the period prescribed by law, any owner or person having legal interest in the property not satisfied with the action of the
provincial, city, or municipal assessor in the assessment of his property may file an appeal with the LBAA of the province or city concerned, as
provided in Section 226 of RA No. 7160 or the LGC of 1991. Thereafter, within thirty (30) days from receipt, he may elevate, by filing a notice of
appeal, the adverse decision of the LBAA with the CBAA, which exercises exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide all appeals from the decisions,
orders, and resolutions of the Local Boards involving contested assessments of real properties, claims for tax refund and/or tax credits, or
overpayments of taxes.

Concurring opinion of Justice Carpio

Pursuant to Sections 231 and 252 of the Local Government Code of 1991, “[b]efore a protest may be entertained, the tax
should have been first paid without prejudice to subsequent adjustment thereof depending upon the final outcome of
the appeal and that the tax or portion thereof paid under protest, shall be held in trust by the treasurer concerned.”

CJHDC filed the present Petition for Review on Certiorari on 29 September 2005, after the promulgation of our
Resolution in John Hay on 29 March 2005 and before the finality of John Hay on 17 November 2005.

There is no showing that CJHDC ever complied with the requirements of Section 206 of the Local Government Code in
claiming tax exemption; hence, the City Assessor of Baguio acted well within her power to assess the subject properties.
There was no need for CJHDC to wait for an assessment before submission of its proofs of tax exemption.  Had CJHDC
submitted proofs of its tax exemption to the City Assessor, there would have been no need for CJHDC to pay under
protest. CJHDC could question in court any adverse decision of the City Assessor, the Local Board of Assessment Appeals,
and the Central Board of Assessment Appeals denying its tax exemption, without paying any tax assessment under
protest, due to its claim of tax exemption under Proclamation No. 420.

However, once the tax exemption in Proclamation No. 420 was declared with finality as unconstitutional by this Court on
17 November 2005, CJHDC no longer had any legal basis for claiming tax exemption. CJHDC could then only question the
correctness of the amount of the tax assessment, not the lack of legal authority by the City Assessor to impose or assess
any realty tax on CJHDC. Payment under protest under Sections 231 and 252 of the Local Government Code thus applied
to CJHDC as of 17 November 2005. Thereafter, any question by CJHDC on realty assessment can only refer to the
correctness of the amount of the assessment, and not to the City Assessor’s legal authority to impose or issue the
assessment.
CRISTINA OLARITA TAX CASES 105-113

Once the non-tax-exempt status of the taxpayer is settled with finality, or if the same is not in issue, any dispute on
the realty assessment only raises questions on the correctness of the amount of the assessment, thus necessitating
prior payment of the assessment under protest. To repeat, any protest that CJHDC files or pursues after 17 November
2005 necessarily refers only to the correctness of the amount of the assessment, in which case CJHDC must pay the
assessed tax under protest. The present petition should be denied because JHSEZ can no longer claim tax exemption,
with the finality of this Court’s ruling in John Hay. CJHDC’s doctrine of operative fact argument is a defense it may raise
before the Local Board of Assessment Appeals, to where this case is being remanded.

106. NPC vs. Municipal Government of Navotas, GR No. 192300 dated November 24, 2014

The protest contemplated under Sec. 252 of R.A. 7160 is needed where there is a question as to the reasonableness of
the amount assessed. Hence, if a taxpayer disputes the reasonableness of an increase in a real estate tax assessment,
he is required to "first pay the tax" under protest. Otherwise, the city or municipal treasurer will not act on his protest.

In cases where, the petitioner is not questioning the excessiveness or reasonableness of the real property tax
assessment, but the legality thereof; there is no need for petitioner to pay the real property tax assessment before
initiating a protest.

What is being questioned in the present case is the authority of the Municipal Assessor to impose the assessment and of the Municipal
Treasurer to collect the real property taxes. Accordingly, resort to the LBAA and the CBAA is no longer necessary for the same reason that what
is being questioned is the legality or validity of the tax assessment, not the reasonableness or correctness of the assessment. Certainly, it would
be unjust to require the realty owner to first pay the tax, the validity of which he precisely questions, before he can lodge a complaint to the
court.

In fine, if a taxpayer is not satisfied with the decision of the CBAA or the RTC, as the case may be, the taxpayer may file, within thirty (30) days
from receipt of the assailed decision, a petition for review with the CTA pursuant to Section 7(a) of R.A. 9282. In cases where the question
involves the amount of the tax or the correctness thereof, the appeal will be pursuant to Section 7(a)(5) of R.A. 9282. When the appeal comes
from a judicial remedy which questions the authority of the local government to impose the tax, Section 7(a)(3) of R.A. 9282 applies.
Thereafter, such decision, ruling or resolution may be further reviewed by the CTA En Banc pursuant to Section 2, Rule 4 of the Revised Rules of
the CTA.

107. City of Lapu-Lapu vs. PEZA, GR No. 184203 dated November 26, 2014

The proper remedy of a taxpayer depends on the stage in which the local government unit is enforcing its authority to
collect real property taxes.

Exhaustion of administrative remedies under the Local Government Code is necessary in cases of erroneous
assessments where the correctness of the amount assessed is assailed. 

 The taxpayer must first pay the tax then file a protest with the Local Treasurer within 30 days from date of payment of tax. (Rep. Act
No. 7160, sec. 252)
 If protest is denied or upon the lapse of the 60-day period to decide the protest, the taxpayer may appeal to the Local Board of
Assessment Appeals within 60 days from the denial of the protest or the lapse of the 60-day period to decide the protest. (Rep. Act
No. 7160, sec. 226) 
 The Local Board of Assessment Appeals has 120 days to decide the appeal. (Rep. Act No. 7160, sec. 229(a))
 If the taxpayer is unsatisfied with the Local Board’s decision, the taxpayer may appeal before the Central Board of Assessment
Appeals within 30 days from receipt of the Local Board’s decision. (Rep. Act No. 7160, sec. 229(c))
 The decision of the Central Board of Assessment Appeals is appealable before the Court of Tax Appeals En Banc. (Rep. Act No. 1125,
as amended by Rep. Act No. 9282, sec. 7(a)(5); Rules of Procedure in the COURT OF TAX APPEALS, Rule 4, sec. 2(e))
 The appeal before the Court of Tax Appeals shall be filed following the procedure under Rule 43 of the Rules of Court. (Rules of
Procedure in the COURT OF TAX APPEALS, Rule 8, sec. 4(c))
 The Court of Tax Appeals’ decision may then be appealed before the SC through a petition for review on certiorari under Rule 45 of
the Rules of Court raising pure questions of law. (Rep. Act No. 1125 (1954), as amended by Rep. Act No. 9282 (2004), sec. 19)

In case of an illegal assessment where the assessment was issued without authority, exhaustion of administrative
remedies is not necessary and the taxpayer may directly resort to judicial action. (Ty v. Trampe, 321 Phil. 81, 101–102 (1995)
[Per J. Panganiban, En Banc])
CRISTINA OLARITA TAX CASES 105-113

 The taxpayer shall file a complaint for injunction before the Regional Trial Court to enjoin the local government unit from collecting
real property taxes. (Batas Blg. 129 (1994), sec. 19; Bank of the Philippine Islands v. Hong, G.R. No. 161771, February 15, 2012, 666
SCRA 71, 78 [Per J. Villarama, Jr., First Division])
 The party unsatisfied with the decision of the Regional Trial Court shall file an appeal, not a petition for certiorari, before the Court
of Tax Appeals, the complaint being a local tax case decided by the Regional Trial Court. (Rep. Act No. 1125 (1954), as amended by
Rep. Act No. 9282 (2004), sec. 7(a)(3))
 The appeal shall be filed within fifteen (15) days from notice of the trial court’s decision.
 The Court of Tax Appeals’ decision may then be appealed before this court through a petition for review on certiorari under Rule 45
of the Rules of Court raising pure questions of law. (Rep. Act No. 1125 (1954), as amended by Rep. Act No. 9282 (2004), sec. 19)

In case the local government unit has issued a notice of delinquency, the taxpayer may file a complaint for injunction to
enjoin the impending sale of the real property at public auction.
 In case the local government unit has already sold the property at public auction, the taxpayer must first deposit with the court the
amount for which the real property was sold, together with interest of 2% per month from the date of sale to the time of the
institution of action.  The taxpayer may then file a complaint to assail the validity of the public auction. (Rep. Act No. 7160 (1991),
sec. 267)
 The decisions of the Regional Trial Court in these cases shall be appealable before the Court of Tax Appeals, (Rep. Act No. 1125
(1954), as amended by Rep. Act No. 9282 (2004), sec. 7(a)(3)) and the latter’s decisions appealable before this court through a
petition for review on certiorari under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court. (Rep. Act No. 1125 (1954), as amended by Rep. Act No. 9282
(2004), sec. 19)

108. CE Casecnan Water and Energy Company, Inc. vs. The Province of Nueva Ecija, GR No. 196278 dated June
17, 2015.

A certiorari petition questioning an interlocutory order issued in a local tax case falls under the jurisdiction of the CTA.

The jurisdiction of the CTA was expanded and its rank elevated to that of a collegiate court with special jurisdiction by
virtue of Republic Act No. 9282. This expanded jurisdiction of the CTA includes its exclusive appellate jurisdiction to
review by appeal the decisions, orders or resolutions of the RTC in local tax cases originally decided or resolved by the
RTC in the exercise of its original or appellate jurisdiction.

The CTA likewise has the jurisdiction to issue writs of certiorari or to determine whether there has been grave abuse of
discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of the RTC in issuing an interlocutory order in cases
falling within the CTA's exclusive appellate jurisdiction. (City of Manila v. Grecia-Cuerdo, G.R.No. 175723, Februarys 2014, 715 SCRA
182)

109. NPC vs. Provincial Treasurer of Benguet, GR No. 209303 dated November 14, 2016

Settled is the rule that should the taxpayer/real property owner question the excessiveness or reasonableness of the
assessment, Section 252 of the LGC of 1991 directs that the taxpayer should first pay the tax due before his protest can
be entertained.

There shall be annotated on the tax receipts the words "paid under protest." It is only after the taxpayer has paid the
tax due that he may file a protest in writing within 30 days from payment of the tax to the Provincial, City or Municipal
Treasurer, who shall decide the protest within sixty days from receipt. In no case is the local treasurer obliged to
entertain the protest unless the tax due has been paid.

d. Refunds (Sec. 253)

110. Allied Banking vs. Quezon City Government – GR No. 154126,

Entitlement to a tax refund does not necessarily call for the automatic payment of the sum claimed. The amount of the
claim being a factual matter, it must still be proven in the normal course and in accordance with the administrative
procedure for obtaining a refund of real property taxes, as provided under the Local Government Code.

Under Section 253 of the Local Government Code, the claim for refund or credit for taxes must be filed before the city
treasurer who shall decide the claim based on the tax declarations, affidavits, documents and other documentary
evidence to be presented by petitioner.
CRISTINA OLARITA TAX CASES 105-113

SEC. 253. Repayment of Excessive Collections. - When an assessment of basic real property tax, or any other tax
levied under this Title, is found to be illegal or erroneous and the tax is accordingly reduced or adjusted, the
taxpayer may file a written claim for refund or credit for taxes and interests with the provincial or city treasurer
within two (2) years from the date the taxpayer is entitled to such reduction or adjustment.

The provincial or city treasurer shall decide the claim for tax refund or credit within sixty (60) days from receipt thereof.
In case the claim for tax refund or credit is denied, the taxpayer may avail of the remedies provided in Chapter 3, Title
Two, Book II of this Code.

e. Assessment Appeals
i. Appeal with the LBAA (Sec. 226)

111. City Government of Quezon City vs. Bayan Telecommunications – GR No. 162015, March 6, 2006

As a rule, administrative remedies must first be exhausted before resort to judicial action can prosper. A well-settled
exception is where the controversy does not involve questions of fact but only of law. (Ty vs. Trampe, 250 SCRA 500
(1995))

Petitions for prohibition are governed by the following provision of Rule 65 of the Rules of Court:

SEC. 2. Petition for prohibition. — When the proceedings of any tribunal, — are without or in excess of its or his jurisdiction, or with grave
abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction, and there is no appeal or any other plain, speedy, and adequate remedy in the
ordinary course of law, a person aggrieved thereby may file a verified petition in the proper court, alleging the facts with certainty and praying
that judgment be rendered commanding the respondent to desist from further proceedings in the action or matter specified therein, or
otherwise, granting such incidental reliefs as law and justice may require.

With the reality that Bayantel's real properties were already levied upon on account of its nonpayment of real estate
taxes thereon, the Court agrees with Bayantel that an appeal to the LBAA is not a speedy and adequate remedy within
the context of the aforequoted Section 2 of Rule 65. This is not to mention of the auction sale of said properties already
scheduled on July 30, 2002.

An appeal to the LBAA, to be properly considered, required prior payment under protest of the amount of
P43,878,208.18, a figure which, in the light of the then prevailing Asian financial crisis, may have been difficult to raise
up. Given this reality, an appeal to the LBAA may not be considered as a plain, speedy and adequate remedy. It is thus
understandable why Bayantel opted to withdraw its earlier appeal with the LBAA and, instead, filed its petition for
prohibition with urgent application for injunctive relief in Civil Case No. Q-02-47292. The remedy availed of by Bayantel
under Section 2, Rule 65 of the Rules of Court must be upheld.

112. Systems Plus Computer College of Caloocan vs. Local Government of Caloocan, GR No. 146382. August 7,
2003

Under Section 226 of RA 7160, the remedy of appeal to the Local Board of Assessment Appeals is available from an
adverse ruling or action of the provincial, city or municipal assessor in the assessment of property, thus:

Section 226. Local Board of Assessment Appeals. -Any owner or person having legal interest in the property
who is not satisfied with the action of the provincial, city or municipal assessor in the assessment of his
property may, within sixty (60) days from the date of receipt of the written notice of assessment, appeal to the
Board of Assessment Appeals of the province or city by filing a petition under oath in the form prescribed for
the purpose, together with copies of the tax declarations and such affidavits or documents submitted in
support of the appeal.

The petitioner cannot bypass the authority of the concerned administrative agencies and directly seek redress from the
courts even on the pretext of raising a supposedly pure question of law without violating the doctrine of exhaustion of
administrative remedies. Hence, when the law provides for remedies against the action of an administrative board,
CRISTINA OLARITA TAX CASES 105-113

body, or officer, as in the case at bar, relief to the courts can be made only after exhausting all remedies provided
therein. Otherwise stated, before seeking the intervention of the courts, it is a precondition that petitioner should first
avail of all the means afforded by the administrative processes.

113. Fels Energy, Inc. vs. Province of Batangas GR No. 168557, February 16, 2007
September 15, 2006 – Motion for Clarification of Decision

The remedy of appeal to the LBAA is available from an adverse ruling or action of the provincial, city or municipal
assessor in the assessment of the property. It follows then that the determination made by the respondent Provincial
Assessor with regard to the taxability of the subject real properties falls within its power to assess properties for
taxation purposes subject to appeal before the LBAA. (Systems Plus Computer College of Caloocan City v. Local
Government of Caloocan City, 455 Phil. 956, 962-963 (2003))

Whenever the local assessor sends a notice to the owner or lawful possessor of real property of its revised assessed
value, the former shall no longer have any jurisdiction to entertain any request for a review or readjustment . The
appropriate forum where the aggrieved party may bring his appeal is the LBAA as provided by law . It follows ineluctably
that the 60-day period for making the appeal to the LBAA runs without interruption.