MANILA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY v CA

GR No. 155650 July 20, 2006

Buri, Kenneth Roger R.
FACTS:
Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) operates the Ninoy Aquino
International Airport Complex in Paraaque City. As operator of the
international airport, MIAA administers the land, improvements and
equipment within the NAIA Complex.
The MIAA Charter transferred to MIAA approximately 600 hectares of
land,including the runways and buildings (Airport Lands and
Buildings) then under the Bureau of Air Transportation.
The MIAA Charter further provides that no portion of the land
transferred to MIAA shall be disposed of through sale or any other
mode unless specifically approved by the President of the Philippines.
The Office of the Government Corporate Counsel issued Opinion No.
061, in which it said that the Local Government Code of 1991 withdrew
the exemption for real estate tax granted to MIAA under Section 21 of
the MIAA charter.
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Therefore, MIAA was held to be delinquent in paying its taxes.

The City of Paraaque Levied upon the properties of MIAA, and posted
invitations for public biddings of MIAAs properties.
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The City of Paraaque averred that Section 193 of the Local

Government code expressly withdrew tax exemptions from
government owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs).

ISSUES:
1.)
Whether or not the properties of MIAA are subject to real estate
taxes.
HELD:
No!
In the first place, MIAA is not a GOCC, it is an instrumentality of the
government. MIAA is a government instrumentality vested with corporate

powers to perform efficiently its governmental functions. MIAA is like any

other government instrumentality, the only difference is that MIAA is vested
with corporate powers. As operator of the international airport, MIAA
administers the land, improvements and equipment within the NAIA
Complex. The MIAA Charter transferred to MIAA approximately 600 hectares
of land, including the runways and buildings (Airport Lands and Buildings)
then under the Bureau of Air Transportation. The MIAA Charter further
provides that no portion of the land transferred to MIAA shall be disposed of
through sale or any other mode unless specifically approved by the President
of the Philippines.
Furthermore, Airport Lands and Buildings of MIAA are property of public
dominion and therefore owned by the State or the Republic of the
Philippines. Article 419 of the Civil Code provides, The Airport Lands and
Buildings of MIAA are property of public dominion and therefore owned by
the State or the Republic of the Philippines.
The Airport Lands and Buildings are devoted to 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 from the public does not remove the character of the Airport Lands
and Buildings as properties for public use. The operation by the government
of a tollway does not change the character of the road as one for public use.
Someone must pay for the maintenance of the road, either the public
indirectly through the taxes they pay the government, or only those among
the public who actually use the road through the toll fees they pay upon
using the road. The tollway system is even a more efficient and equitable
manner of taxing the public for the maintenance of public roads.
Being a property of public dominion, the properties of MIAA are beyond
the commerce of man.