Case Digest (G.R. No. 261472)
Facts:
National Food Authority, Represented by Atty. Ma. Theresa S. Villafuerte, CPA, in Her Capacity as Department Manager of NFA Legal Affairs Department v. City Government of Tagum, City Assessor and City Treasurer of Tagum, Province of Davao del Norte, G.R. No. 261472, May 21, 2024, Supreme Court En Banc, Lazaro-Javier, J., writing for the Court.The petitioner is the National Food Authority (NFA); respondents are the City Government of Tagum, its City Assessor, and its City Treasurer. The dispute concerns seven NFA-owned parcels in Barangay Magdum, Tagum City (TCT Nos. T-59639, T-59640; tax declarations listed in the record) and Notices of Delinquency demanding PHP 2,643,816.53 in unpaid real property taxes issued on August 2, 2016.
The factual and legal background traces NFA’s long evolution: created and reconstituted under various statutes and presidential decrees (notably P.D. No. 4, P.D. No. 1485, P.D. No. 1770), endowed with corporate powers and sovereign guarantees, and later refocused by R.A. No. 11203 (the Rice Tariffication Law) on maintenance of rice buffer stock. Historically, NGA/NFA charters contained exemptions from taxes; post‑1991 Local Government Code (R.A. No. 7160) withdrew many exemptions by Section 234 but Section 133(o) limits local taxing power over the national government and its instrumentalities. NFA ceased paying local real property taxes after 2007, relying on two OGCC opinions that applied the Court’s MIAA doctrine to NFA, and issued internal memoranda directing its offices not to pay such taxes.
When Tagum City issued delinquency notices in 2016, NFA filed a Petition for Prohibition with the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 31, Tagum City, seeking to enjoin collection. The RTC dismissed the petition for lack of merit (Resolution Nov. 15, 2016) and denied reconsideration (Order Dec. 8, 2016). NFA then filed a Petition for Review with the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) Second Division (CTA AC No. 180). The CTA Second Division issued an order (Res. Mar. 15, 2017) suspending collection pending decision, but by Decision dated May 29, 2018 the Division ruled that NFA was a GOCC, not a government instrumentality exempt from local taxation, and affirmed the trial court; reconsideration was denied Aug. 23, 2018.
NFA elevated the case to the CTA En Banc (CTA EB No. 1930). The CTA En Banc dismissed NFA’s petition for certiorari in a Decision dated June 30, 2020 and denied reconsideration on November 4, 2021, holding that NFA had failed to avail of administrative remedies (appeal to the Local Board of Assessment Appeals...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Did the Regional Trial Court for Tagum City, Branch 31 have jurisdiction to entertain NFA’s Petition for Prohibition?
- Is "payment under protest" under Section 252 of the Local Government Code an absolute prerequisite to challenging real property tax assessments by judicial remedy?
- Is the National Food Authority a government instrumentality vested with corporate powers (as opposed to a GOCC)?
- If NFA is a government instrumentality, are its Tagum pro...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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