Mandate

Sec. 200 of RA 7160 of the Local Govt Code of 1991 specifies that the provinces and cities, including municipalities within the Metropolitan Manila Area, shall be primarily responsible for the proper, efficient, and effective administration of real property tax.

The Assessor’s Office ensures proper execution of all laws and assessments of real properties for taxation purposes. On this premise, the above provision restates the principle of valuation that all real property, whether taxable or exempt, shall be appraised at the current and fair market value prevailing in the locality where the property is located. It is an integrated technical and administrative process based on the value of the property, designed to raise revenue for the government.

As prescribed under Section 472(b) of RA 7160 and the Manual on Real Property Appraisal and Assessment Operations of the Bureau of Local Governance Finance, the Assessor shall take charge of the Assessor’s Office, perform the duties provided for under Book II (Local Taxation & Fiscal Matters) of the Local Government Code (RA 7160), and shall:

1. Ensure that all laws and policies governing appraisal and assessment of real properties for taxation purposes are properly executed;
2. Initiate, review, and recommend changes in policies and objectives, plans and programs, techniques, procedures, and practices in the valuation and assessment of real properties for taxation purposes;
3. Establish a systematic method of real property assessment in the manner prescribed in the Bureau of Local Government Finance Manual on Real Property Appraisal and Assessment Operations and in conformity with the standards prescribed by the Secretary of Finance;
4. Install and maintain a real property identification and accounting system in the manner prescribed in the Bureau of Local Government Finance Manual on Real Property Appraisal and Assessment Operations and in conformity with the standards prescribed by the Secretary of Finance;
5. Undertake a general revision of real property assessments every (3) years;
6. Prepare, install, and maintain a system of tax mapping, showing graphically all property subject to assessment and gather all data concerning the same;
7. Conduct frequent physical surveys to verify and determine whether all real properties within the cities are properly listed in the assessment rolls;
8. Exercise the functions of appraisal and assessment primarily for taxation purposes of all real properties within the jurisdiction of the City;
9. Prepare a schedule of the fair market value for the different classes of real properties, following Title Two under Book II of the Code (RA 7160);
10. Enforce uniformly the exemptions from the real property tax as prescribed in the Manual on Real Property Appraisal and Assessment Operations of the Bureau of Local Governance Finance;
11. Decrease the assessment where the property previously assessed has suffered substantial loss of value by reason of physical and economic obsolescence;
12. Increase the assessment where improvements and repairs have been made upon the property subsequent to the last assessment;
13. Issue, upon request of any interested party, other records relative to its assessment, upon payment of a charge or fee to the City Assessor;
14. Submit every semester a report of all assessments, as well as cancellations and modifications of assessment to the City Mayor and the Sangguniang Panlungsod; and
15. Exercise such other powers and perform such other duties and functions as may be prescribed by law or ordinance.