G.R. No. L-23793




Republic of the Philippines SUPREME COURT Manila EN BANC G.R. No. L-23793 February 23, 1968 ORMOC SUGARCANE PLANTERS ASSOCIATION, INC., petitioner-appellant, vs. THE MUNICIPAL BOARD OF ORMOC CITY and HON. ESTEBAN C. CONEJOS as Mayor of Ormoc City, respondents-appellees. Renato E. Tañada for petitioner-appellant. Office of the Solicitor General and The City Fiscal of Ormoc City, for respondents-appellees. MAKALINTAL, J.: This is a companion case to G.R. No. L-23794, Ormoc Sugar Co., Inc. vs. Treasurer of Ormoc City, et al., wherein this Court hold through Associate Justice Jose P. Bengzon, that Ordinance No. 4, Series of 1964, enacted by the Municipal Board of Ormoc City, is unconstitutional and void. Section 1 of the said ordinance provides: Municipal Tax. — There shall be paid to the City Treasurer of any and all productions of centrifugal sugar milled at the Ormoc Sugar Company, Incorporated, in Ormoc City a municipal tax equivalent to one percentum (1%) per export sale to the United States of America and other foreign countries. In G.R. No. L-23794 suit was brought by the Ormoc Sugar Co., to seek a refund of the sum of P12,087.50 which it had paid under protest in 1964 pursuant to the ordinance in question. Our decision in said case holds that the ordinance imposes a tax on export, and that it infringes the equal protection clause of the Constitution, since it refers exclusively to the Ormoc Sugar Company. On the other hand the instant case is a petition for declaratory judgment filed by the Ormoc Sugarcane Planters Association, Inc. the rights of whose members are also affected by the ordinance. No other relief than a declaration of its nullity is prayed for, and the same must be granted in accordance with and for the reason already set forth in the other case. For purposes of our decision herein, however, one other ground may be cited, namely, that the taxing power granted to chartered cities, municipalities and municipal districts Section 2 of Republic Act No. 2264 (June 19, 1959) was amended on June 19, 1965 by R.A. No. 4497, as follows: Sec. 1. Section two of Republic Act Numbered Twenty-two hundred sixty-four is amended to read as follows: Sec. 2. Taxation. — Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, all chartered cities, municipalities and municipal districts shall have authority to impose municipal license taxes or fees upon person engaged in any occupation or business, or exercising privileges in chartered cities, municipalities or municipal districts by requiring them to secure licenses at rates fixed by the municipal board or city council of the city, the municipal council of the municipality, or the municipal district council of the municipal district; to collect fees and charges for service rendered by the city, municipality or municipal district; to regulate and impose reasonable fees for services rendered in connection with any business, profession or occupation being conducted within the city, municipality or municipal district and otherwise to levy for public purposes, just and uniform taxes, licenses or fees: Provided, That municipalities and municipal districts shall, in no case, impose any percentage tax on sales or other taxes in any form based thereon nor impose taxes on articles subject to specific tax, except gasoline, under the provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code: Provided, however, That no city, municipality or municipal district may levy or impose any of the following: x x x x x x x x x (1) Taxes, fees or levies, of any kind, which in effect impose a burden on exports of Philippine finished, manufactured or processed products and products of Philippine cottage industries. Subsection 1 of section 2 just quoted did not exist in R.A. No. 2264 before it was amended. The amendment is clearly a denial of the power to impose export taxes, and in effect repeals the Ormoc City ordinance subject of this case. WHEREFORE the said ordinance is hereby declared unconstitutional and void, and no longer of any effect. No costs.1äwphï1.ñët Concepcion, C.J., Reyes, J.B.L., Dizon, Bengzon, J.P., Zaldivar, Sanchez, Castro, Angeles and Fernando, JJ., concur. The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation