SC asked to overturn ruling on MIAA

The local government of Parañaque City is asking the Supreme Court (SC) to overturn an earlier ruling, which cleared the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) of real property tax liabilities.

The motion for reconsideration filed by Mayor Florencio Bernabe noted that "preventing any local government unit from collecting realty tax on a government-controlled corporation within its jurisdiction would be anti-development and "favoring regress."

"I believe this high court decision would defeat the primary purpose of the Local Government Code, which is to strengthen local government units and make them autonomous and self-reliant, the principal requirements in attaining national progress and development," Bernabe argued in his 28-page appeal.

The SC, through a decision penned by Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, said the MIAA is exempt from paying real-estate tax because the Philippine government is still the beneficial owner of the property involved.

Bernabe pointed out that the SC, in a long line of decisions, has upheld the taxability of government-owned and controlled corporations, among them the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIAA), National Power Corp., Batangas Power Corp., Lung Center of the Philippines, Government Service Insurance System and the Light Rail Transit Authority.

"Both the Mactan-Cebu International Airport and MIAA were created by their respective and special charters. And the city of Cebu collects realty taxes from MCIAA but Parañaque cannot exercise its taxing powers on MIAA," Bernabe lamented.

Parañaque City demanded more than P625 million in accrued real property taxes from MIAA since 2001 but the latter refused to pay and instead filed a case before the SC.