Republic of the Philippines
CENTRAL BOARD OF ASSESSMENT APPEALS Manila
RADIO COMMUNICATIONS OF THE PHILIPPINES, INC. (RCPI),
Petitioner-Appellant,
Tax Appeal No. 1-95
– versus – CBAA CASE NO. M-10
BOARD OF ASSESSMENT APPEALS OF PAGADIAN CITY,
Appellee,
– and –
THE CITY ASSESSOR AND CITY TREASURER OF PAGADIAN CITY,
Respondents-Appellees.
x – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – x
R E S O L U T I O N
Before this Board are the Order of the Board of Assessment Appeals of
Pagadian City dated 26 June, 1995, and the original records of the above-
captioned case as forwarded by the Local Board of Assessment Appeals of
Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur.
Records reveal that after the Respondents-Appellees City Assessor and
City Treasurer of Pagadian City issued an assessment notice to the Petitioner-
Appellant assessing its properties situated at Palpalan, Pagadian City, under Tax
Declaration Nos. 93-000083, 93-000084 and 98-000085, the Petitioner-Appellant
interposed its appeal before the Local Board of Assessment Appeals of Pagadian
City, dated February 8,1995.
When the Respondents-Appellees were required to file and serve their
answers to the appeal interposed by the Petitioner-Appellant RCPI,
Respondents-Appellees failed to answer as directed in a summons and a notice
of hearing issued by the Local Board of Assessment Appeals Chairman, Ricardo
Dioso, Jr., dated May 23, 1995.
Reference: Book VII, pp. 288-292
The same summons and notice of hearing scheduled a hearing of the case
on June 16, 1995 at 9:00 o’clock in the morning at the Office of the Register of
Deeds, Pagadian City.
Records further reveal that Petitioner-Appellant’s counsel Atty. George
Arboleda sent a telegraphic Motion to Postponed the Hearing for the reason that
he could not possibly attend the June 16, 1995 scheduled hearing as the said
counsel for RCPI was suffering from Loose Bowel Movement (LBM) per sworn
medical certificate attached to his formal “Urgent Motion to Cancel Hearing”, datd
June 15, 1995.
On the date of the scheduled hearing on June 16, 1995, only the
Respondent-Appellee City Assessor of Pagadian City, Mrs. Priscasita M. Quipot,
personally appeared together with four of her Office Division Chiefs. The
Respondent-Appellee City Treasurer of Pagadian City as well as the Petitioner-
Appellant RCPI and counsel did not appear. In view of the absence of the
Petitioner-Appellant and its counsel, the Local Board of Assessment Appeals of
Pagadian City elevated the records now before us for the reason that no hearing
can be had due to the absence of the Petitioner-Appellant and its counsel.
This Board finds the action of Appellee Local Board of Assessment
Appeals of Pagadian City erroneous, which finds no support in any other set of
jurisprudence, neither with any alleged Rules of Procedure before the Local
Board of Assessment Appeals cited by the Local Board of Assessment Appeals
in its Order dated 26 June 1995 for the reasons that: First, this Board is not
aware that there is such Rules of Procedure before the Local Board of
Assessment Appeals which authorizes all Local Boards to forward the records of
the case to this Board as no hearing could be had because of the absence of
either or both parties to the case, because the proper thing to do for the Local
Board in cases like this is not to forward the records of appeal to this Board but to
schedule another hearing to afford the parties to be present according to their
available dates in the calendar of either or both parties. This is so, because in
Reference: Book VII, pp. 288-292
every case filed before the Local Board and before the Central Board of
Assessment Appeals due process of law must always be complied with and that
the Local Board is mandated by Section 229 of the Local Government Code of
1991 to conduct a hearing and render its decision after the hearing, giving all
parties the opportunity to present evidence in their behalf. Secondly, the Rules of
Procedure before the Local Board of Assessment Appeals have not yet been
finally approved or implemented by this Board as this rules, together with the
Rules of Procedure before the Central Board of Assessment Appeals are still in
the process of being reconciled and hopefully the said rules may then be
promulgated soon thereafter.
WHEREFORE, the records of this case is hereby remanded to Appellee
Board of Assessment Appeals of Pagadian City, and the latter is hereby directed
to conduct further proceedings and receive the evidences of both parties in a
formal hearing, after which hearing the Local Board of Assessment Appeals of
Pagadian City, as mandated by law, should render its decision before any appeal
by the parties unsatisfied by its decision could be entertained by this Board.
SO ORDERED.
Manila, Philippines, August 10, 1995.
(Signed) MARGARITA G. MAGISTRADO
Chairman
(Signed)
ELEANOR A. SANTOS VACANT Member Member
Reference: Book VII, pp. 288-292