City of Manila vs Judge Amador Gomez

GR. No 37251, August 31, 1981

Doctrine of implications means that "that which is plainly implied in the language of a
statute is as much a part of it as that which is expressed"
Facts: The City of Manila fixes the annual realty tax at 1- %. The Special Education Fund Law
effective on 1969 imposes an additional tax of 1% on assessed value of real property in addition
to the realty property tax but the total tax shall not exceed a maximum of 3%. This gave the
municipal board of Manila to fix the realty tax at 3% by means of Ordinance No. 7125.
Esso Philippines Inc, paid the said tax under protest and filed a complaint for the
recovery of the said amount, contending that the additional 1/2 % is void because it is not
authorized by any charter or law. The trial Court ruled in favor of the Esso Philippines and
ordered the City of Manila to refund the former.
Issue; W/N the additional percent realty tax is valid.
Held: The additional tax is valid.
We hold that the doctrine of implications in statutory construction sustains the City of
Manila's contention that the additional one-half percent realty tax is sanctioned by the provision
in section 4 of the Special Education Fund Law that "the total real property tax shall not exceed
a maximum of three per centum.
The doctrine of implications means that "that which is plainly implied in the language of a
statute is as much a part of it as that which is expressed" (In re McCulloch Dick, 38 Phil. 41, 45,
90; 82 C.J.S. 632, 73 Am Jur 2nd 404).
While the 1949 Revised Charter of Manila fixed the realty tax at one and a half percent,
on the other hand, the 1968 Special Education Fund Law definitively fixed three percent as the
maximum real property tax of which one percent would accrue to the Special Education Fund.
The obvious implication is that an additional one-half percent tax could be imposed by municipal
corporations. Inferentially, that law fixed at two percent the realty tax that would accrue to a city
or municipality.

NOTES:
(just to clarify)
-

1 % is the original realty tax of the City of Manila implemented on June 18, 1949.
The Special Education Fund Law w/c took effect on January 1, 1969 imposed an annual
additional tax of 1%, stating also that the total realty tax shall not exceed 3%
The Real Property Tax Code provides that a city council by ordinance can impose a real
property tax of not less than of 1% but not more than 2%
Case Digest and Notes - Cristina Alas-as

In the case at bar it can be assumed (my own assumption, though) that the City of Manila will
receive, out of the 3% total realty tax, a total of 2% and the Special Education sector will be
entitled to 1%, therefore the City of Manila did not violate the laws on Real Property Tax Code

Case Digest and Notes - Cristina Alas-as