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MANILA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY V CA

(G.R. No. 155650, July 20, 2006)
On Public Corporations in the Philippines (De facto corporations)

FACTS:
Petitioner MIAA administers the land, improvements and equipment within the NAIA Complex. Under the
MIAA Charter, approximately 600 hectares of land, including airport lands and buildings, were transferred
to MIAA. Such Charter also provided that no portion of the land transferred shall be disposed of unless
specifically approved by the President.

The Office of the Government Corporate Counsel opined that the Local Government Code has withdrawn
the exemption from real estate tax (RET) granted to MIAA under the MIAA Chapter.

MIAA received Final Notices of RET Deliquency for taxable years 1992 to 2001 and were issued notices
and warrants of levy on the airport lands and buildings. The City threatened to sell the subject properties at
a public auction should MIAA fail to pay its RET Deliquency.

MIAA filed a petition for prohibition and injunction, seeking to restrain the City from imposing RET on,
levying against, and auctioning for public sale the properties. The CA dismissed the petition on a
technicality, hence, this present petition for review.

MIAA contends that while the titles of the subject property are in its name, the real owner is the Republic of
the Philippines. The properties are also devoted to public use and service, thus inalienable and are not
subject to RET.

ISSUE:
W/N the properties of MIAA are exempt from RET

RULING:
YES.

RATIO:
The properties of MIAA are property of public dominion and therefore owned by the State or the Republic of
the Philippines.

Art. 420, NCC, provides that ‘ports’ are of property of public dominion. Such term includes seaports and
airports. The MIAA Airport Lands and Buildings constitute a "’port’ constructed by the State.

Additionally, the properties of MIAA are devoted for public use because they are used by the public for
international and domestic travel and transportation. The fact that the MIAA collects terminal fees and other
charges does not remove the character of the properties as public.

In connection to such, Section 234(a) of the LGC exempts from RET any ‘real property owned by the
Republic of the Philippines.’ This exemption should be read in relation with Section 133(o) of the same
Code, which prohibits local governments from imposing charges of any kind on the National Government,
its agencies and instrumentalities.