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real party in interest, not only because this question was not
raised in the lower court but also because, factually, actually, it
was he who had insisted that the taxpayer pay the taxes now to
be refunded.
PETITION for review of a decision of the Court of Tax
Appeals.
68 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
Board of Assessment Appeals vs. Manila Electric The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court.
Company Assistant City Attorney Jaime R. Agloro for
petitioners.
Ross, Selph & Carrascoso for respondent.
No. L-15334. January 31, 1964.
PAREDES, J.:
BOARD OF ASSESSMENT APPEALS, ClTY
ASSESSOR and ClTY TREASURER OF QUEZON From the stipulation of facts and evidence adduced
CITY, petitioners, vs. MANILA ELECTRIC during the hearing, the following appear:
COMPANY, respondent. On October 20, 1902, the Philippine Commission
enacted Act No. 484 which authorized the Municipal
Board of Manila to grant a franchise to construct,
Taxation; Real property tax; Steel towers of Meralco
maintain and operate an electric street railway and
exempt under its franchise.—The tax exemption privilege of
electric light, heat and power system in the City of
the Meralco on its poles, as granted by its franchise (Act No.
Manila and its suburbs to the
484), is held to include its steel towers.
Same; Same; Term "pole" includes steel towers.—The 69
term "pole" refers to an upright standard to the top of which
something is affixed or by which something is supported, and VOL. 10, JANUARY 31, 1964 69
includes a steel tower of an electric power company, like the
Meralco. Board of Assessment Appeals vs. Manila Electric
Company
Same; Same; Steel towers of electric company not real
property.—The steel towers of an electric company do not
person or persons making the most favorable bid.
constitute real property for the purpose of the real property
Charles M. Swift was awarded the said franchise on
tax.
March 1903, the terms and conditions of which were
Same; Same; Refund; City Treasurer held responsible.— embodied in Ordinance No. 44 approved on March 24,
The City Treasurer of Quezon City is held responsible for the 1903. Respondent Manila Electric Co. (Meralco for
refund of real property taxes, despite his contention that short), became the transferee and owner of the
Quezon City, which was not made a party to the suit, is the franchise.
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Meralco's electric power is generated by its hydro- was excavated from seven to eight (8) feet deep and one and a
electric plant located at Botocan Falls, Laguna and is half (1-1/2) meters wide. There being very little water at the
transmitted to the City of Manila by means of electric bottom, it was seen that there was no concrete foundation, but
transmission wires, running from the province of there was soft adobe beneath. The leg was likewise provided
Laguna to the said City. These electric transmission with two
wires which carry high voltage current, are fastened to
insulators attached on steel towers constructed by 70
respondent at intervals, from its hydro-electric plant in
the province of Laguna to the City of Manila. The 70 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
respondent Meralco has constructed 40 of these steel
Board of Assessment Appeals vs. Manila Electric
towers within Quezon City, on land belonging to it. A
Company
photograph of one of these steel towers is attached to
the petition for review, marked Annex A. Three steel
towers were inspected by the lower court and the parties parallel steel bars bolted to a square metal frame also bolted to
and the following were the descriptions given thereof by each corner. Like the first one, the second tower is made up of
said court: metal rods joined together by means of bolts, so that by
unscrewing the bolts, the tower could be dismantled and
"The first steel tower is located in South Tatalon, España reassembled.
Extension, Quezon City. The findings were as follows: the The third tower examined is located along Kamias Road,
ground around one of the four posts was excavated to a depth Quezon City. As in the first two towers given above, the
of about eight (8) feet, with an opening of about one (1) meter ground around the two legs of the third tower was excavated
in diameter, decreased to about a quarter of a meter as it went to a depth about two or three inches beyond the outside level
deeper until it reached the bottom of the posts; at the bottom of the steel bar foundation. It was found that there was no
of the post were two parallel steel bars attached to the leg by concrete foundation. Like the two previous ones, the bottom
means of bolts; the tower proper was attached to the leg by arrangement of the legs thereof were found to be resting on -
three bolts; with two cross metals to prevent mobility; there soft adobe, which, probably due to high humidity, looks like
was no concrete foundation but there was adobe stone mud or clay. It was also found that the square metal frame
underneath; as the bottom of the excavation was covered with supporting the legs were not attached to any material or
water about three inches high, it could not be determined with foundation."
certainty as to whether said adobe stone was placed purposely
or not, as the place abounds with this kind of stone; and the On November 15, 1955, petitioner City Assessor of
tower carried five high voltage wires without cover or any Quezon City declared the aforesaid steel towers for real
insulating materials. property tax under Tax Declaration Nos. 31992 and
The second tower inspected was located in Kamuning 15549. After denying respondent's petition to cancel
Road, K-F, Quezon City, on land owned by the petitioner these declarations, an appeal was taken by respondent to
approximately more than one kilometer from the first tower. the Board of Assessment Appeals of Quezon City,
As in the first tower, the ground around one of the four legs which required respondent to pay the amount of
P11,651.86 as real property tax on the said steel towers
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for the years 1952 to 1956. Respondent paid the amount earnings, income, franchise, and poles, wires, transformers,
under protest, and filed a petition for review in the Court and insulators of the grantee from which taxes and
of Tax Appeals (CTA for short) which rendered a assessments the grantee is hereby expressly exempted." (Par. 9,
decision on December 29, 1958, ordering the Part Two, Act No. 484, Respondent's Franchise; italics
cancellation of the said tax declarations and the supplied.)
petitioner City Treasurer of Quezon City to refund to the
respondent the sum of P11,651.86. The motion for The word "pole" means "a long, comparatively slender
reconsideration having been denied, on April 22, 1959, usually cylindrical piece of wood or timber, as typically,
the instant petition for review was filed. the stem of a small tree stripped of its branches; also, by
In upholding the cause of respondents, the CTA held extension, a similar typically cylindrical piece or object
that: (1) the steel towers come within the term "poles" of metal or the like". The term also refers to "an upright
which are declared exempt from taxes under part II standard to the top of which something is affixed or by
paragraph 9 of respondent's franchise; (2) the steel which something is supported; as a dovecote set on a
towers are personal properties and are not subject to real pole; telegraph poles; a tent pole; sometimes,
property tax; and (3) the City Treasurer of Quezon City specifically, a vessel's mast." (Webster's New
is held responsible for the refund of the amount paid. International Dictionary, 2nd Ed., p. 1907.) Along the
These are assigned as errors by the petitioner in the streets, in the City of Manila, may be seen cylindrical
brief. metal poles, cubical concrete poles, and poles of the
The tax exemption privilege of the petitioner is PLDT Co. which are made of two steel bars joined
quoted hereunder: together by an interlacing metal rod. They are called
"poles" notwithstanding the fact that they are not made
"PAR. 9. The grantee shall be liable to pay the same taxes of wood. It must be noted from paragraph 9, above
upon its real estate, buildings, plant (not including poles, quoted, that the concept of the "poles" for which
wires, transformers, and insulators), machinery and personal exemption is granted, is not determined by their place or
property location, nor by the character of the electric current it
carries, nor the material or form orm of which it is
71 made, but the use to which they are dedicated. In
accordance with the definitions, a pole is not restricted
VOL. 10, JANUARY 31, 1964 71 to a long cylindrical piece of wood or metal, but
includes "upright standards to the top of which
Board of Assessment Appeals vs. Manila Electric something is affixed or by which something is
Company
supported." As heretofore described, respondent's steel
supports consist of a framework of four steel bars or
as other persons are or may be hereafter required by law to strips which are bound by steel cross-arms atop of
pay. x x x Said percentage shall be due and payable at the which are cross-arms supporting five high voltage
times stated in paragraph nineteen of Part One hereof, x x x transmission wires (See Annex A) and their sole
and shall be in lieu of all taxes and assessments of whatsoever function is to support or carry such wires.
nature, and by whatsoever authority upon the privileges,
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The conclusion of the CTA that the steel supports in being connected with criss-cross iron running from the
question are embraced in the term "poles" is not a bottom to the top, constructed like ladder and loaded
novelty. Several courts of last resort in the United States with high voltage electricity. In form and structure, they
have called these steel supports "steel towers", and they are like the steel towers in question. (Salt River Valley
have denominated these steel supports or towers, as Users' Ass'n v. Compton, 8 P. 2nd, 249-250.)
electric poles. The term "poles" was used to denote the steel towers
of an electric company engaged in the generation of
72
hydroelectric power and transmitting the power
generated from its plant to the tower of Oxford and City
72 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED of Waterbury. These steel towers are about 15 feet
square at the base and extended to a height of about 35
Board of Assessment Appeals vs. Manila Electric
feet to a point, and are embedded in cement foundations
Company
sunk in the earth, the top of which extends above the
surface of the soil in the tower of Oxford, and to the
In their decisions the words "towers" and "poles" were towers are attached insulators, arms, and other
used interchangeably, and it is well understood in that equipment capable of carrying wires for the
jurisdiction that a transmission tower or pole means the transmission of electric power (Connecticut Light and
same thing. Power Co. v. Oxford, 101 Conn. 383, 126 Atl. p. 1).
In a proceeding to condemn land for the use of In a case, the defendant admitted that the structure on
electric power wires, in which the law provided that which a certain person met his death was built for the
wires shall be constructed upon suitable poles, this term pur-
was construed to mean either wood or metal poles and
in view of the land being subject to overflow, and the 73
necessary carrying of numerous wires and the distance
between poles, the statute was interpreted to include
VOL. 10, JANUARY 31, 1964 73
towers or poles. (Stemmons v. Dallas Power & Light
Co. (Tex) 212 S.W. 222, 224; 32-A Words and Phrases, Board of Assessment Appeals vs. Manila Electric
p. 365.) Company
The term "poles" was also used to denominate the
steel supports or towers used by an association to pose of supporting a transmission wire used for carrying
convey its electric power furnished to subscribers and high-tension electric power,. but claimed that the steel
members, constructed for the purpose of fastening high towers on which it was carried were so large that their
voltage and dangerous electric wires alongside public wire took its structure out of the definition inition of a
highways. The steel supports or towers were made of pole line. It was held that in defining the word pole, one
iron or other metals consisting of two pieces running should not be governed by the wire or material of the
from the ground up some thirty feet high, being wider at support used, but was considering the danger from any
the bottom than at the top, the said two metal pieces elevated wire carrying electric current, and that
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regardless of the size or material wire of its individual breaking the material or deterioration of the object;
members, any continuous series of structures intended
and used solely or primarily for the purpose of xxx xxx xxx
supporting wires carrying electric currents is a pole line
74
(Inspiration Consolidation Cooper Co. v. Bryan, 252 P.
1016).
It is evident, therefore, that the word "poles", as used 74 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
in Act No. 484 and incorporated in the petitioner's Board of Assessment Appeals vs. Manila Electric
franchise, should not be given a restrictive and narrow Company
interpretation, as to defeat the very object for which the
franchise was granted. The poles as contemplated
(5) Machinery, receptacles, instruments or implements
thereon, should be understood and taken as a part of the
intended by the owner of the tenement for an industry or
electric power system of the respondent Meralco, for the
works which may be carried in a building or on a piece of
conveyance of electric current from the source thereof
land, and which tends directly to meet the needs of the said
to its consumers. If the respondent would be required to
industry or works ;"
employ "woden poles," or "rounded poles" as it used to
do fifty years back, then one should admit that the xxx xxx xxx
Philippines is one century behind the age of space. It
should also be conceded by now that steel towers, like The steel towers or supports in question, do not come
the ones in question, for obvious reasons, can better within the objects mentioned in paragraph 1, because
effectuate the purposes for which the respondent's they do not constitute buildings or constructions
franchise was granted. adhered to the soil. They are not constructions
Granting for the purpose of argument that the steel analogous to buildings nor adhering to the soil. As per
supports or towers in question are not embraced within description, given by the lower court, they are
the term poles, the logical question posited is whether removable and merely attached to a square metal frame
they constitute real properties, so that they can be by means of bolts, which when unscrewed could easily
subject to a real property tax. The tax law does not be dismantled and moved from place to place. They can
provide for a definition of real property; but Article 415 not be included under paragraph 3, as they are not
of the Civil Code does, by stating the following are attached to an immovable in a fixed manner, and they
immovable property: can be separated without breaking the material or
causing deterioration upon the object to which they are
"(1) Land, buildings, roads, and constructions of all kinds attached. Each of these steel towers or supports consists
adhered to the soil; of steel bars or metal strips, joined together by means of
bolts, which can be disassembled by unscrewing the
xxx xxx xxx
bolts and reassembled by screwing the same. These steel
(3) Everything attached to an immovable in a fixed manner, towers or supports do not also fall under paragraph 5,
in such a way that it cannot be separated therefrom without for they are not machineries, receptacles, instruments or
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implements, and even if they were, they are not intended ______________
for industry or works on the land. Petitioner is not
engaged in an industry or works on the land in which
the steel supports or towers are constructed.
It is finally contended that the CTA erred in ordering
the City Treasurer of Quezon City to refund the sum of
P11,-651.86, despite the fact that Quezon City is not a
party to the case. It is argued that as the City Treasurer © Copyright 2019 Central Book Supply, Inc. All rights reserved.
is not the real party in interest, but Quezon City, which
was not made a party to the suit, notwithstanding its
capacity to sue and be sued, he should not be ordered to
effect the refund. This question has not been raised in
the court below and, therefore, it cannot properly be
raised for the first time on appeal. The herein petitioner
is indulging in legal technicalities and niceties which do
not help him any; for, factually, it was he (City
Treasurer) who had insisted that respondent herein pay
the real estate taxes, which respondent paid under
protest. Having acted in his official
75
VOL. 10, JANUARY 31, 1964 75
San Diego vs. Auditor General
capacity as City Treasurer of Quezon City, he would
surely know what to do, under the circumstances.
IN VIEW HEREOF, the decision appealed from is
hereby affirmed, with costs against the petitioners.
Bengzon, C.J., Padilla, Bautista Angelo,
Labrador, Concepcion, Reyes, J.B.L., Barrera and
Regala, JJ., concur.
Makalintal, J., concurs in the result.
Dizon, J., took no part.
Decision affirmed.
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