GR L 12362; (August, 1917) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-12362; August 29, 1917
THE UNITED STATES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. PEDRO ABEJO, defendant-appellant.
FACTS:
On May 6, 1916, Pedro Abejo took the elector’s oath required for voter registration, swearing that he was not delinquent in paying any public taxes assessed against him since August 13, 1898. A complaint was filed alleging that this oath was false because Abejo was delinquent in paying the real property tax for the year 1915 on certain parcels of land assessed in his name. The evidence showed that the property had been assessed under Abejo’s name since 1906, with his knowledge and without protest, and that the 1915 tax remained unpaid until July 16, 1916. Abejo defended himself by claiming that the property actually belonged to the heirs of Silvestre Zamarro (including his wife) and was merely assessed in his name for convenience, as he had managed the property for the co-owners.
ISSUE:
Whether a person may be considered “delinquent” in the payment of public taxes under the elector’s oath even if he is not the actual owner of the property assessed in his name.
RULING:
Yes. The Supreme Court held that the term “delinquent” in the elector’s oath carries the same meaning as under the real property tax assessment laws. Under those laws, once a tax is lawfully assessed against a person in whose name the property is listed, that person incurs a personal obligation to pay the tax. Failure to pay within the prescribed period renders him delinquent, regardless of whether he is the actual owner. The law focuses on the taxpayer’s liability fixed by assessment, not on ownership. Since Abejo had allowed the property to be assessed in his name for years without objection, he became personally liable for the tax. His failure to pay the 1915 tax on time constituted delinquency, making his elector’s oath false. The Court modified the penalty, imposing a fine of ₱200 with subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency, instead of the original prison sentence.
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