Case Digest (G.R. No. 25386)
Facts:
Asiatic Petroleum Co. (P. I.), Ltd. v. A. Llanes, G.R. No. 25386. October 20, 1926, the Supreme Court, Street, J., writing for the Court. The plaintiff below and appellee was Asiatic Petroleum Co. (P. I.), Ltd.; the defendant below and appellant was A. Llanes, Provincial Treasurer of Cebu.
On August 22, 1919 the Governor‑General, on behalf of the Government of the Philippine Islands, leased to Asiatic Petroleum for fifty years a one and one‑half hectare tract known as “Shell Island,” then customarily covered by high tide, to be used as a site for petroleum storage tanks. To reclaim and protect the site the lessee constructed substantial permanent improvements (tanks, wharf, warehouse, pump house, residences, sheds and appurtenances) built into concrete foundations and retaining walls.
The lease recited that it was made pursuant to Act No. 1654 (as amended by Act No. 2570). Assessors later imposed local taxes for the years 1923–1925 against the lessee both for the land and for the improvements thereon; the company paid the assessment under protest and sued to recover P3,523.02. The trial court entered judgment for the plaintiff for that sum with lawful interest from May 28, 1925. The provincial treasurer appealed to the Supreme Court.
At argument before the Court, the provincial fiscal urged that Act No. 2874 (approved November 29, 1919, with a provision making it effective July 1, 1919) rendered lessees liable for taxes on lands granted under that Act (Sec. 113), and that the statute should be given retroactive effect to impair the lease. The Court reviewed relevant provisions of Act No. 1654 (distinguishing sections dealing with lands reclaimed by the Government from those relating to ...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Is the lessee liable for local taxation on the land (Shell Island) leased from the Government?
- Can Act No. 2874 be given retroactive effect so as to impair the obligation of the existing lease and render the lessee liable for taxes on the leased land?
- Is the lessee liable for local taxation on the private improvements it...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)