The notice of assessment or special levy can be contested administratively or judicially to defer the auction sale
Ownership of real property carries with it the obligation to pay real property taxes annually to the local government unit where the property is located.
“The real property tax for any year shall accrue on the first day of January and from that date… [shall] constitute a lien on the property… and shall be extinguished only upon the payment of the delinquent tax” (Section 246, Republic Act 7160).
The lien on the property “shall be superior to any other lien, mortgage, or encumbrance of any kind whatsoever.”
“The collection of the real property tax with interest thereon and related expenses, and the enforcement of the remedies… shall be the responsibility of the city or municipal treasurer concerned” (Section 247).
The city or municipal treasurer may deputize the barangay treasurer to collect all taxes on real property located in the barangay.
It is required that “the barangay treasurer is properly bonded for the purpose… [and that] the premium on the bond shall be paid by the city or municipal government concerned” (Section 247).
“The provincial, city or municipal assessor shall prepare and submit to the treasurer of the local government unit, on or before the 31st day of December each year, an assessment roll containing a list of all persons whose real properties have been newly assessed or reassessed and the values of such properties” (Section 248).
“The city or municipal treasurer shall, on or before the 31st day of January each year, in the case of the basic real property tax and the additional tax for the Special Education Fund … post the notice of the dates [for collection of tax]… at a conspicuous and publicly accessible place… [S]aid notice shall likewise be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks” (Section 249).
When the real property tax becomes delinquent, “the provincial, city or municipal treasurer shall immediately cause a notice of the delinquency to be posted at the main entrance of the provincial capitol, or city or municipal hall and in a publicly accessible and conspicuous place in each barangay…” Such notice “shall also be published once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks, in a newspaper of general circulation in the province, city, or municipality” (Section 254).
The “notice shall specify the date upon which the tax became delinquent and shall state that personal property may be distrained to effect payment. It shall likewise state that at any time before the distraint of personal property, payment of the tax with surcharges, interests and penalties may be made…” (Section 254).
The tax, surcharges and penalties must be paid before the expiration of the year for which the tax is due, otherwise the delinquent real property will be sold at public auction.
The notice of assessment or special levy can be contested administratively or judicially to defer the auction sale (Section 254).
After the auction sale, the title to the property will be vested in the purchaser, subject to the right of the delinquent owner or any person having legal interest therein to redeem it within one year from the date of sale (see Section 254).
The redemption payment to the local treasurer shall include the interest and expenses of the sale (see Section 261).
The redemption payment shall invalidate the certificate of sale issued to the purchaser and a certificate of redemption shall be issued by the local treasurer or his deputy to the owner or the person having interest in the property (see Section 261).
From the date of sale of the property until the expiration of the period of redemption, the owner or person having legal interest therein shall continue to possess the same and be entitled to its income and other fruits thereof (see Section 261).
“The local treasurer or his deputy, upon receipt from the purchaser of the certificate of sale, shall forthwith return to the latter the entire amount paid by him plus interest of not more than two percent (2 percent) per month.
“Thereafter, the property shall be free from the lien of such delinquent tax, interest due thereon and expenses of sale.” (Section 261).