GUIDE NOTES ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT TAXATION Erratum Sec. 188, Publication of Tax Ordinances and Revenue Measures.

- Within ten (10)

days after their approval, certified true copies of all provincial, city, and municipal tax ordinances or revenue shall be published in full for three (3) consecutive days in a newspaper of local circulation: Provided, however, That in provinces, cities and municipalities where there are no newspapers of local circulation, the same may be posted in at least two (2) conspicuous and publicly accessible places.

Q: When is publication/posting necessary? * In Figuerres v. Court of Appeals, Figuerres brought a prohibition suit against the officials of then Municipality of Mandaluyong to prevent them from enforcing certain ordinances which revised the schedule of fair market values of the various classes of real property in the municipality and the assessment levels applicable thereto. Figuerres contended that the ordinances were invalid for having been adopted without public hearings and prior publication or posting. The Supreme Court decided the case in favor of Figuerres and heldconfirmed that the publication/posting requirement under Section 188 of the 1991 LGC must be complied with in case of an ordinance imposing real property taxes, as well as an ordinance fixing the assessment levels for different classes of real property in an LGU (the latter being in the nature of a tax ordinance). In this case, however, the Supreme Court found that apart from her bare allegations, petitioner was unable to prove that the subject ordinances were not disseminated in accordance with the 1991 LGC. Considering the presumption of validity in favor of ordinances and the failure of petitioner to rebut such presumption, the Supreme Court upheld the validity of such ordinances. [Figuerres v. Court of Appeals, GR No. 119172, 25 March 1999.] Q: What is the effect of non-compliance with Section 188 of the 1991 LGC? * Failure to follow the procedure in enactment of tax measures renders the same null and void. This is the doctrine enunciated in Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc. v. City of Manila. The nullity of the Revised Revenue Code of the City of Manila was attributed to the fact that it was published only for one day in the Philippine Post. Note that Section 188 of the 1991 LGC requires the publication of the subject tax measure for 3 consecutive days in a newspaper of local circulation. [Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc. v. City of Manila, GR No. 156252, 27 June 2006.]

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