Quezon City property tax hike gets Supreme Court nod

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) has allowed the Quezon City government to implement an ordinance increasing the market value of land in the city and its corresponding real estate tax.

In a decision released recently, the high court dismissed the petition filed by the Alliance of Quezon City Homeowners’ Association Inc. questioning City Ordinance No. 2556, which increased the fair market value of real properties by five times and revised the real property assessment in the city.

The SC lifted the temporary restraining order it issued in April last year, which stopped the implementation of the tax measure that was supposed to raise around P700 million in additional revenue collections in the first year of its implementation. 

The high tribunal cited the lack of legal standing of the petitioners to question the ordinance.

“The Rules of Court mandate that only natural or juridical persons and entities authorized by law may be parties in a civil action. Non-compliance with this requirement renders a case dismissible on the ground of lack of legal capacity to sue,” read the ruling penned by Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe.

The SC rejected the homeowners’ allegation that the petition was filed by its board of trustees through its treasurer Danilo Liwanag, a taxpayer and a Quezon City resident.