FURTHER AMENDING PARAGRAPH 7 OF PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 76, DATED DECEMBER 6, 1972, REQUIRING ALL PERSONS, NATURAL OR JURIDICAL, OWNING OR ADMINISTERING REAL PROPERTY, INCLUDING…

WHEREAS, in order to enable the Central Board of Assessment
Appeals to expeditiously decide appeals from the decisions of the
Provincial or City Board of Assessment Appeals involving contested
assessments of real properties, the necessary complement of qualified
and competent personnel should be provided therefor;

WHEREAS, the anticipated volume of such appealed decisions
will require a reasonable statutory period for the Board to judiciously
decide the same; and

WHEREAS, there is an urgent need to adequately fund the
expenses of the Central Board of Assessment Appeals incidental to the
discharge of its functions;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the
Philippines, by virtue of the powers in me vested under the
Constitution, do hereby order and decree the following as part of the
law of the land:

SECTION 1. Paragraph 7 of Presidential Decree No. 76, dated
December 6, 1972, is hereby amended to read as follows:

X X X

“The Provincial or City Board of Assessment Appeals shall decide
the appeal within one hundred twenty days from receipt thereof. The
decision rendered must be based on substantial evidence presented at the
hearing or at least contained in the record and disclosed to the
parties affected or such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might
accept as adequate to support a conclusion. The owner or administrator
of the property or the assessor who is not satisfied with the decision
of the Board of Assessment Appeals may, within thirty days after receipt
of the decision of the Board, appeal to the Central Board of Assessment
Appeals, composed of the Secretary of Finance, as Chairman, the
Secretary of Justice and the Secretary of Local Government and Community
Development, as Members, whose decision shall be final. The Central
Board of Assessment Appeals shall promulgate rules and regulations
governing the procedure in such appeals.

“However, an appeal shall not suspend the collection of the
corresponding realty tax as assessed by the Provincial or City Assessor
which shall be adjusted to conform with the decision on appeal.

“To insure expeditious disposition of all cases involving
contested assessments brought on appeal to the Central Board of
Assessment Appeals, there is hereby created a Board of Commissioners and
Staff to assist the Central Board of Assessment Appeals, which shall be
composed of the following:

	Position	Annual Salary
1.	Central Board Chief Hearing Commissioner @P17,400.00 per annum	P17,400.00
2.	Four Central Board Hearing Commissioners @P16,200.00 per annum	64,800.00
3.	Central Board Secretary @P9,600.00 per annum	9,600.00
4.	Four Central Board Stenographers @ P6,600.00 per annum	26,400.00
5.	Three Central Board Docket and Filing Clerks @P4,800.00 per annum	14,400.00

and such other positions as the Central Board may deem necessary
which shall thereafter be included in the appropriation of the
Department of Finance in the corresponding General Appropriations
Decree.

“Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding,
appointments to the positions of Central Board Chief Hearing
Commissioner, Central Board Hearing Commissioners and Central Board
Secretary shall be exempt from the requirements and restrictions of the
Civil Service Law, rules and regulations as well as those pertaining to
the position-item classification and salary standardization: Provided,
That any government retiree may be appointed to the Board of
Commissioners created herein and upon his appointment he shall not be
required to reimburse or refund any gratuity received from the
Government nor shall any pension or annuity to which he is entitled be
suspended or reduced on account of his employment. The members of the
Board of Commissioners shall serve until they reach the age of seventy
unless sooner removed for cause as provided by law. The Board of
Commissioners shall be members of the bar or civil or mechanical
engineers, with at least five years supervisory and/or field experience
in assessment work.

“The Secretary of Finance, as Chairman of the Central Board of
Assessment Appeals, shall appoint the members of the Board of
Commissioners and Staff.

“The sum of one hundred twenty-five thousand pesos for the
period from April 1, 1974 to June 30, 1974 is hereby appropriated from
the General Fund in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to
finance the operations of the Central Board of Assessment Appeals. For
every fiscal year thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for the
operations of the said Board shall be included m the appropriation of
the Department of Finance in the corresponding General Appropriations
Decree.”

SEC. 2. This Decree shall take effect
immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 8th day of April, in the year of
Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-four.