REQUIRING ALL PERSONS, NATURAL OR JURIDICAL, OWNING OR ADMINISTERING REAL PROPERTY, INCLUDING THE IMPROVEMENTS THEREON, TO FILE A SWORN STATEMENT OF THE TRUE VALUE OF SUCH PROPE…

I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by
virtue of the powers in me vested by the Constitution as Commander-in-Chief of
the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081,
dated September 21, 1972, and General Order No. 1, dated September 22, 1972, as
amended, and knowing —

That, values of real properly and improvements therein are usually
underdeclared obviously for the purpose of evading payment of higher and correct
taxes due the Government;

That, although real property and the improvements therein are undervalued for
purposes of taxation, these real property are sold to the Government when needed
for public purposes, such as the construction of roads and other
infrastructures, at their market value which are usually ten (10) to twenty (20)
times more than the value declared by the owners for purposes of taxation; and
—

In order to effect the desired changes and reforms in the social, economic
and political structure of the country, which is the main objective of the New
Society, hereby decree and order that:

1. It shall be the duty of all persons, natural or juridical, owning or
   administering real property, including the improvements therein, within a city,
   municipality or municipal district, or their duly authorized representative, to
   prepare, or cause to be prepared, and file with the provincial or city assessor
   not later than June 30, 1973, a sworn statement declaring the true value of
   their property, whether previously declared or undeclared, taxable or exempt,
   which shall be the current and fair market value of the property, as determined
   by the declarant.

   The “current and fair market value” shall be understood to mean the “price at
   which a willing seller would sell and a willing buyer would buy neither being
   under abnormal pressure.”

   For purposes of just compensation in cases of private property acquired by
   the Government for public use, the basis shall be the current and fair market
   value declared by the owner or administrator, or such market value as determined
   by the assessor, whichever is lower.

   Under this Decree, the assessed valuation which shall be the basis for the
   payment of real property tax beginning with the calendar year 1974 shall be
   fifty per centum of the current and fair market value, as determined by the
   assessor, in the case of commercial, industrial or mineral lands; forty per
   centum in the case of agricultural lands; and thirty per centum in the case of
   lands for purely residential purposes.

   All improvements, including machineries, shall be assessed independently of
   lands and their assessments shall be maintained at their current levels, but in
   no case shall such levels be lower than the assessment levels for lands
   hereinabove prescribed nor more than eighty per centum of current and fair
   market value, except for purely residential houses used as residence of the
   owners thereof the assessment levels of which are hereby fixed as follows:

   Assessment Level		Current and Fair
   		Market Value
   15%		P30,000.00 or less
   20%		30,001.00	to	P50,000.00
   25%		50,001.00	to	75,000.00
   35%		75,001,00	to	100,000.00
   45%		100,001.00	to	150,000.00
   55%		150,001.00	to	250,000.00
   65%		250,001.00	to	350,000.00
   75%		350,001.00	to	500,000.00
   80%	over	500,000.00	to

2. Every five years hereafter, revision of real property assessment shall be
   undertaken by provincial and city assessor, and no increase in the current
   assessment level, as determined by the assessor, at any one time shall be more
   than ten per centum of the assessment levels mentioned in the foregoing
   paragraphs: Provided, That the limitation herein fixed on the frequency of
   assessment revision and increase in assessment levels shall not apply if the
   nature of the real estate has been changed from rural to urban or from
   residential to commercial and industrial site: And provided, further, That the
   assessment level of real property shall not exceed eighty per centum of current
   and fair market value, except upon prior approval of the Secretary of Finance.
3. When real property is found in any city, municipality or municipal district,
   the owner or administrator of which failed to file the sworn statement required
   under this Decree on or before June 30, 1973, the provincial or city assessor
   shall himself declare the property in the name of the defaulting owner, if
   known, or against an unknown owner, as the case may be, and shall assess the
   property for taxation in accordance with the provisions of this Decree.

   No oath shall be required of a declaration thus made by the provincial or
   city assessor.

4. When the entire assessed valuation of real property in any one municipality
   or municipal district belonging to a single owner is not in excess of five
   hundred pesos, the tax thereon shall not be collected though in any event the
   property shall be valued for the purposes of assessment and record shall be kept
   thereof.
5. All existing tax declarations as of December 31, 1973 shall be superseded by
   the corresponding new tax declarations issued under this Decree. Collections,
   however, of delinquent real property taxes as of December 31, 1973 shall be
   computed on the basis of the assessed value and rates of penalty then obtaining.

6. To achieve a uniform appraisal of real property, provincial and city
   assessors shall prepare a schedule of current and fair market value of different
   classes of real property in their respective jurisdictions, using as guide the
   instruction prescribed in the implementing rules prescribed by the Secretary of
   Finance. Copies of the schedule of market values shall be furnished the
   Secretary of Finance not later than September 30, 1973; and the same shall be
   adopted for use under this Decree unless modified or revised by the Secretary of
   Finance on or before November 30, 1973.
7. Any owner who is not satisfied with the action of the provincial or city
   assessor in the assessment of his property under this Decree may, within sixty
   days from the date of receipt by him of the written notice of assessment, appeal
   to the Board of Tax (Assessment) Appeals of the province or city, which shall be
   composed of three members: the Register of Deeds, as Chairman, the Provincial or
   City Auditor and the Provincial or City Engineer, as Members, who shall serve as
   such in an ex officio capacity without additional compensation.

   The Provincial or City Board of Tax (Assessment) Appeals shall decide the
   appeal within sixty days from receipt thereof. The decision of the Board shall
   fully recite the consideration upon which it is founded. Upon receipt of the
   decision, the Provincial or City Assessor shall thereupon act accordingly. If,
   however, the owner or administrator of the property or the assessor be not
   satisfied with the decision of the Board of Tax (Assessment) Appeals, he may,
   within thirty days after receipt of the decision of the Board, appeal to the
   Central Board of Tax (Assessment) Appeals, composed of the Secretary of Finance,
   as Chairman, the Secretary of Justice and the Secretary of Local Governments and
   Community Development, as Members, whose decision shall be Final. Said Central
   Board of Tax (Assessment) Appeals shall promulgate rules and regulations
   governing the procedure in such appeals.

   The appeal, however, shall not suspend the collections of the corresponding
   realty taxes as assessed by the provincial or city assessor, without prejudice
   to subsequent adjustment depending upon the final outcome of the appeal.

8. To effectively implement the objective of this Decree, provincial, city,
   municipal or municipal district boards or councils shall provide the necessary
   appropriations to underwrite or defray expenses incident thereto, using for the
   purpose any unappropriated balances in the general, road and bridge and/or
   permanent public improvement funds; any underestimated revenues accruing thereto
   or reversions of unauthorized appropriations in their respective budgets which
   are not otherwise urgently needed, existing laws to the contrary
   notwithstanding.
9. Any increase in the shares of provinces, cities, municipalities and
   municipal districts from the additional one per centum realty tax levied and
   apportioned under Republic Act No. 5447, accruing to their respective local
   school boards commencing with fiscal year 1973-74 over what has been actually
   realized during the fiscal year 1971-72 which, for purposes of this Decree,
   shall remain as the base year, shall be divided equally between the general fund
   and special education fund of the local government units concerned. The
   Secretary of Finance may, however, at his discretion, increase to not more than
   seventy-five per centum the amount that shall accrue annually to the local
   general fund.
10. Failure to pay the real property tax before the expiration of the terms for
    the payment without penalty of the quarterly installments thereof, shall subject
    the taxpayer to the payment of a penalty equivalent to two per centum on the
    amount of the delinquent tax for each month of delinquency or fraction thereof
    until the delinquent tax shall be fully paid: Provided, That in no case shall
    the total penalty exceed twenty-four per centum of the delinquent tax. The rate
    of penalty for tax delinquency fixed herein shall be uniformly applied in all
    provinces and cities.
11. Anyone who shall knowingly make false declaration concerning any property or
    who shall deliberately fail to file the sworn statement required in this Decree
    shall, upon conviction, pay a fine of not less than five hundred pesos nor more
    than ten thousand pesos. If the offense is committed by a corporation, the
    manager or person in charge of the management of the business of the
    corporations shall be responsible thereof.

    Any Officer charged with the duty of assessing real property, who shall
    wilfully fail to assess, or shall omit from the tax lists, any real property
    which he knows to be lawfully taxable pursuant to and according to this Decree
    shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five thousand pesos, or imprisonment
    of not more than two years, or both, at the discretion of the court.

    Any government official or employee who shall intentionally and deliberately
    delay the filing of the real property tax declaration or the filing of any
    appeal against an assessment shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of
    not more than one thousand pesos or by imprisonment of not more than two years,
    or both, at the discretion of the court.

12. The Secretary of Finance is hereby ordered to formulate the implementing
    rules and regulations to be followed by all Provincial and City Assessors for
    the immediate and successful implementation of this Decree.

This Decree shall form part of the laws of the land and shall take effect
immediately after its publication. All laws, rules and regulations which are
inconsistent with this Decree are hereby repealed.

Done in the City of Manila, this 6th day of December, in the year of Our
Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-two.

			(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS President Republic of the Philippines
	By the President:
	(Sgd.) ALEJANDRO MELCHOR
		Secretary Executive