ORDINANCE NO: 1993-118 (Bill No. 51) "AN ORDINANCE CREATING THE CITY BOARD OF ASSESSMENT APPEALS AND DEFINING ITS POWERS, DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS" BE IT ORDAINED BY THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD OF PAGADIAN CITY THAT: SECTION 1. - Organization, Powers, Duties and Functions. - The City Board of Assessment Appeals is hereby created shall be composed of the Register of Deeds, as Chairperson, the City Prosecutor and City Engineer, as Members, who shall serve as such in an Ex-Officio capacity without additional compensation. b) The Chair of the Board shall have the power to designate any employee of the City to serve as Secretary to the Board also without additional compensation. c) The Chair and Members of the Board of Assessment Appeals of the City shall assume their respective positions without need of further appointment or special designation immediately upon effectivity of this Ordinance. They shall take an oath or affirmation of office in the prescribed form. d) In the absence of the Register of Deeds, or the City Prosecutor, or the City Engineer, the persons performing their duties, whether in an acting capacity or as a duly designated as Officer-In-Charge, shall automatically become the Chair or member, respectively, of the said Board, as the case may be. SECTION 2. - Meetings and Expenses of the City Board of Assessment Appeals. - a) The City Board of Assessment Appeals shall meet once a month and as often as may be necessary for the prompt disposition of appealed cases. No member of the Board shall be entitled to per diems or traveling expenses for his attendance in Board meetings, except when conducting on ocular inspection in connection with a case under appeal. b) All expenses of the Board shall be charged against the General Fund of the City. The Sangguniang Panlungsod shall appropriate the necessary funds to enable the Board to operate effectively. SECTION 3. - Appeals. - Any owner or person having legal interest in the property who is not satisfied with the action of the City Assessor in the assessment of his property may, within sixty (60) days from date of receipt of the written notice of assessment, appeal to the City Board of Assessment Appeals by filing a petition under oath in the form prescribed for the purpose, together with copies of Tax Declaration and such affidavits or documents submitted in support of the appeal. SECTION 4. - Action by the City Board of Assessment Appeals. - a) The Board shall decide the appeal within one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of receipt of such appeal. The Board, after hearing, shall render its decision based on substantial evidence or such relevant evidence on record as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support the conclusion. b) In the exercise of its appellate jurisdiction, the Board shall have the power to summon witnesses, administer oaths, conduct ocular inspection, take depositions, and issue subpoena and subpoena duces tecum. The proceedings of the Board shall be conducted solely for the purpose of ascertaining the facts without necessarily adhering to technical rules applicable in judicial proceedings. c) The Secretary of the Board shall furnish the owner of the property or the person having legal interest therein and the City Assessor with a copy of the decision of the Board. In case the City Assessor concurs in the revision of the assessment, it shall be his duty to notify the owner of the property or the person having legal interest therein of such fact using the form prescribed for the purpose. The owner of the property or the person having legal interest therein or the Assessor who is not satisfied with the decision of the Board, may, within thirty (30) days after receipt of the decision of said Board, appeal to the Central Board of Assessment Appeals. The decision of the Central Board shall be final and executory. SECTION 5. - Effects of Appeal on the Payment of Real Property Tax. - Appeal on Assessment of real property made under the provisions of this Ordinance shall, in no case, suspend the collection of the corresponding realty taxes on the property involved as assessed by the City Assessor, without prejudice to subsequent adjustment depending upon the final outcome of the appeal. SECTION 6. - Effectivity. - This Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its approval. ENACTED AND APPROVED by the Sangguniang Panlungsod on its 50th Regular Session held on December 13, 1993.