CTA Case No. 3836 (Decision)

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPP.INES COURT OF TAX APPEALS QUEZON CITY W.R. GRACE (PHILIPPINES) INC., Petitioner-, �- ver-sus - C.T.A. CASE NO. 3836 COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent. - }{ - - - ----- X DE C I s I 0 N Petitioner-, W.R. Gr-ace (Philippines) Inc., is a domestic cor-por-ation engag.ed in the bL\siness of pr-ocessi ng and manufactur-ing constr-uction mater-ial s and impor-ting indus tr-ial chemicals. On Januar-y 24, 1984, petitioner- r-eceived fr-om r-espondent a letter- d ated Januar-y 12, 1984 assessing it for- deficiency / nco me tax for the taxable year 1978 amounting to P74,959.26, inclusive of inter-est ther-eon, computed as follows : Net: incane per- ~-e ~urn F'8,109,703.00 Add: Dis-..a llc:xNcv1ces p 23,101.10 Ta:.:es/ 1icensas Other- e>:penses -�-1-C--l=c-="l- l ..CXYI ()() (r-elocation) !'..�..':'...::....! ....:....'!.. Net inccxre per- r-eview

DECISION - CTA CASE Nl.1 . 3836 - 2- Tax due then?on P3,2B3, 12.1. .67 Less: Ta:-: due and paid . . .... _::;~, m,~! ~;Q per- return De�ficiency incane ta:{ p 49~240.67 14/. int. fr. 4/16/79 - 7/31/80 20/. int. fr. 8/.1./B) - 4/16/82 8~900.35 Total Ana..ll'lt Due 8< C"...ollectible �--��-��--~1:>. ,�!.1.:..E!.!.~4. ~=::Z~:~,~~~:,:�g Petitioner~ t.hru counsel, protested the said assessment in a letter dated February 23~ 1984 claiming that the disallowed deductions of .and PlOO~OOO.OO~ representing ta>:es/licenses and other e>:penses (relocation) . respectively, were erroneous since these ta>:es and .. 1 icenses were proper 1 y c:ledLtc tec:l in 1978, the year they were actually paid although they were related to the years 1974~ 1975, 1976 and 1977; while the relocation e>:pense of P100~000.00 arose out of the difference between the r�elocat.icm e>:pense of P400~000.00 which wa s debited as an eNpense (E ::hibit 1 -- a, p. 1~ BIR record) and the provision for relocation amounting to P300~000.00 which was added back to income (Exhibit 3 - a~ p. 44~ BIR record) . Petitioner alleged that the a mount actually reserved for relocation exp~nse was in truth and in fact only P300,000.00 and not P400~000.00, hence the amount added back to income

DECISION - CTA CASE NO. 3836 was only P300,000.00. No deduction for relocation expense was thus claimed. On ~1 �.1 ly 26, 1984, petitioner received the letter of respondent denying the protest of petitioner dated February 23, 1984. Hence~ this instant petition for review filed on August 24, 1984. The i. ssues presented for resolution are the fo l l o~~<d. n~}: 1. Whether or not petitioner can deduct taxes/licenses for 1974-1977 in 1978, the year when said tc::n:es and 1 icenses were paid, it being under the accrual basis of accounting; and 2. Whether or not the relocation e:-:pense of F'lOO~OOO.OO can be deducted in 1978, the taxable year in question. We deal r first with the first issue. The records of the case show that the taNes and licenses sought to be disallowed by respondent comprise of the following items found in the Schedule of Taxes and Licenses Paid and Accrued for the year- ended Dec: ember 31, 1978: (E>:hibit 2, p. 34- 37, BIR record) 5C

DECISION -- CTA CASE NO. 3836 - 4 -- 1.974-�-1977 PlR -- as e:-:por-ter- .� p 8~26.3.85 and impor-ter- ( E:�:hibit 2- a ~ p. 35~ BIR r-ecor-d) 179.40 .1.976--1977 PTR - as contr-actor-/ _11.!.Q~?..~-~~ lessor- - per-sonal pr-oper-ty (E>:hi.bit 2-b~ p. 35~ BIR ~~~:~'~2l:~~ r-ecor-d) .1.976- .1.977 Per-ca1tage ta>: as contr-actor-/lessor- - per-sonal pr-oper-ty (E:�:hibi t 2-c ~ p. 35~ BIR n~cor-d) Total Respondent asser-ts that the ta>:es/licenses incur-r-ed fc. ,- the year-s 1974-1977 cannot be deducted as e>:penses in 1978~ t.he ta>:able year- under- r-eview~ since these e>:penses r-efer- to the year-s 1974-1977~ pur-suant to Sections 30(c)(1) and 40 of the Ta:-: Code a~ implemented by Section 171. of Revenue Regulations No. 2~ which pr-ovide: "Sec. ::::~). Deductic:ns fr-om gr-oss income.- In computing net incare ther-e shall be allowed as deduct.iu1. HXX (c) Ta:�:es: ( 1. ) In gener-a 1 �- I~!:~~.-~.;!,p___gr:: .....�l.f:.t;t.Jo~�'Q ~i.tb!n..J;b~;L:t~!:L~I:;l!.�'. . . Y.~~r:: ~ e>:cept XXX XHX xxx." "Sec. 40. Per-iod for- which deductions and cr-edits taken � - I~__g_~!dc;.:!::_.!,Q1_~..- J?.r::.o.~i.9~;L..f9r........!D. :tbi.?._I..ttJg__.�.~1.L ...~. . ..t..~kfi?O... :fi:1r.::.....t.~--t.~~:.~l:;lJ~...Y~~r:.....!.o. !:ib!..C.:J.]... ~~.~!.l;1........9..r:...._~c;:c;.r.,;?.Q_~.~..._. Qr::_. _'~.~!.9. . . .9.r.........:!:.Of:.~.t.rr::gg ~ II depa1dent Llpcr. the method of accounting upon the basis of which the net income is comp...1ted~ unless 502

DECISION CTA CASE NO. 3836 - 5- in order� to c 1early reflect the income the . deduc ticns sh::uld be taken as of a different period. X II "Sec. 171. "Paid or incurred" .:md "Paid or accn..ted" . - (a) The terms "paid or incurred" and "paid or� accn..ted" will be ccnstn..ted according to the metJ1e:x::l of acc:o...trJt.ing up<..-n the basis of which Ue net. income i s cr.xnp...tt.ed by the ta:-:payer. The deduc: ti.c:ns and cred.i ts rrust � be taken fc.1r the tm:able year in which "paid or accn..ted" or "paid or� incurred", unless in or�der clearly to reflect tte inconE such deduc:ticns or credits sl-o...tld be taken as of a different period. If a ta:�:payer des.ir�es to claim a deduction or a credit as of a period other thc:~n Ue period in which i t was "paid or accn.ted" or "paid or incurred", l"e shall attach to his return a statement setting for�th his r�equest for� c:cnsicleraticn of the case by the ['.,c:xTmi.s si.cner of Internal Revenue together� with a complete stateTEnt of the facts upon which he n ?l.i.es. ~.?ver� , in his inconJe ta:-: retum he shall take the dE;~:h.tc:ticrl or credit cnly for the ta>:able period in which it was actually "paid or incur-red" or "paid or� accrued", as the :::ase lll<::\Y be. Upcr1 the .. audit of tie retum , the Cr.:xmlissicr1er of Internal Revenue will decide ~t-Jhether the ci'lc:-.G is ~t-li thin the e:�:cepticn provided by la~t-J, and the taxpayer ~t-lill be advised as to Ue pe r�ic.lCi for which the deduction or credit is prope1'��1y allc:x.-~able. (lhder�scoring supplied.) Petitioner contends, however, that it can validly claim as a deduction the taxes/licenses for 1974- 1977 representing the F'TR as an exporter and importer amounting to P8,263.85, since it is on an accrual basis of reporting i t�s income and expenditures. � .. Henc:e, any 1 iabi 1 i ty which remains to be contingent., that is, not fi>:ed dr absolute 503

DECISION ..... CTA CASE NO. 3 8 3 6 - 6- cannot be claimed as a deduction for it has not yet accrued. According to pet.i tioner the contingency lies in the conflict. between Sections 192(2) and 202(e) of the Tax Code, and BIR Ruling No. 65-099 dated Augus t 28, 1965 and BIR Ruling dated March 15' 1973. We find no mer-it. in petitioner's contention. The ques tion of whether or not petitioner is liable to pay the graduated fixed taxes as an exporter for 1974- 1977 never- was in doubt, thus, the 1 iabi 1 i ty was fixed at the time they were incurred. Under the accrual method, the "existence of a de finite liability is the essence of accrual". (Mer-tens, Vol. 2 , par . 12.61, Revised edition.) The is allowable the liability ther-efor- became fixed, and the amoun-t is either ascertained or ascertainable in the ta}:able year (u.s. vs. Ander-s on, 269 u.s. 422; Lucas vs. American Code Co.; 280 u.s. 445; Brown vs. Helvering, 291 U. S. 193). In case at bar, the liability of petitioner to pay the graduated fixed tax is de finite pursuant to Sections 202(e) and 192(2) of

DECISION -��� CTA CASE NO. 383~ ~ - 7 -- the Tax Code then in force at the time, which are hereby reproduced as follows: ''�'1f.?C. 202. Articles not subject to per�centage tax c::n sales. -- The following shall be exempt from Ue per-centage taxes imposed in f':>ec t..ions 194, 195, 1.96, 1.97, 1.98, 1.99 and 201. : XX}! (e) Articles shipped or e>:port.ed by the manufacturer or pr-oducer, irrespective of any shippinq ar-rangement t.h~- t may be agreed upc:n lf-Jhich may influence or deter-mine the transfer of CWler��ship of Ue artie les_.so exported. XHX XXH." "Sec. .192. Fi :-:ed taxes.- ( .1 ) Persons subject to t::er�c:en te~ge tax �- x x x (2) Pen:=-..cns not subject to percentage ta:�: . -- Every perscn who is not rE.'f.:tuin:d to pay t t e pE �rentage t.a:-: pre�".,cr-i.bed tu�1der this Ti t.le shall 1 w for- each cala�tdar year in which the rerscn shall a1gage in t:usiness a fi>:ed annual ta}: ba sed upcn h.i.s gross annual sales during the pn,-:ceding cala1dar year, as followsc xxx." BIR Ruling No. 65--099 dated August 28, 1.965 and BIR Ruling dated March 1.5, 1973 never were in conflict with the above-cited provisions of the Tax Code. The doubt as claimed by petitioner was never apparent because it is clear from a careful perusal of BIR Ruling No. 65-099 dated August 28, 1965, that the said ru 1 ing app 1 ies on 1 y to gr.:g_c,j_l,\.�.1:'?r_!?_::. f:'?_~: .P..9Lt..~.t.=.?..._....9..L ....J.9.9..?.. , while on the other hand BIR

DECISION CTA CASE NO. 3836 - 8- Ruling dated March 15, 1973, applies only to corporations engaged in the production of consumption and e>:port. Here~ petitioner is thus~ beyond the purview of said administrative rulings. For better appreciation of the legal and factual aspects involved in this case~ incorporated hereunder are th~ complete te>:ts of BIR Ruling 65- 099 dated August 28~ 1965 and BIR Ruling dated March 15~ 1973~ as follows: BIR K'l.l..If\13 f\0. 65- (>99 Dated A..tgust. 28, 1965 Mr. D.:nrado M. Alabastro Cert.i. f ied F'ubl i.e Ac:co...ntant R-�-~'09 Pacific Rlilding RosariCJ, Mani).a Sin In r�eply to your letter dated Pugust l ..,, 1964, I have the honor to inform ycx..t t hat producers-i'?l�:rx:>rters of logs are not st.tbjE?Ct to the graduated fi>:ed annual (C-- 1.3) ta>:. Their C-1.4 privilege ta>:- receipt covers bc.1t.h their local and e>:rx:>rt sales. 5 (}()

DECISION CTA CASE N 1. 3836 - 9- All pr-evious n..tl.ings inconsistent her-E?\Ni th ar-e her-eby super-seded. Very tr-1..11 y ycx..tr-s, (SGD.) E�1\I.Jr-t1IN N. TABIOS Acting Ccmnissic:ner- of Inter-nal Revenue Mar-ch 15, 1973 Atty. Raquel Ramir-ez --1--lc.~bi tan .11--A Kalamansanay St:r-E'f?t Pr--oject 7, 0...1ezc:n City Madam: � This r-�e�fer-s to ycur- letter- dated Febn..li:\r-y 6, 1973 r-equesting clad fication on ti-e foll~ing matter-s: "1. Is a cor-por-ation that may engage in agr-icul tcwe (say, pr-oductic:n of bananas) liable for- the payrTJF.:.-nt of pr-ivilege ta:�:? "2. If it is <:".>Libj ect to ti-e pr-.ivilege ta>:, is it su.bject to ti-e gr-aduated fi>:ed ta>: or- the per-centage ta>:? If so, what is the basis �for- the ta:�: and the r-ates applicable? ~b...1ld tJe ta:�: be the Sc:'"\fllE' if ti-e a!Jr-icul t.twal pn::ducts "'-'E.'r-e for- e>:por-t? for- loc:al cons umption? '' 3 . If it falls tJrlder the percentage ta>: sa: tic:n' can it avail of ti-e pr-ovisions of Section 188 of the National Inter-nal Revenue Code, which pr-ovides a.s foll~: Tr-ansactic::n and per-srris not subject to per-centage t.a:�::- In ccmputing the ta>: imposed in Sections 184, .186-A and. 186-B, tr-ansactions in ti-e foll~ing ccmnodi ties she:\11 be e:�:c 1uded , >i". x >: � . '

DECISION CTA CASE NO. 3836 - .10 - Agr-icultur-al gcx:x::l pr-Oducts, etc. X}!X In r-eply, I have tre honor- to infor-m you that a cor-por-ation which is engaged in pr-cx:lucing agr-icultur-al pn:lducts, such as bc.-v1anas for- local ccrlst.lmpticn and e>:por-t is e:�:empt fr-an tre payment of tre per-centage ta:�:es ~:ur-suant to Section .188(b) , � f theTa:�: Ca:le. Accor-dingly, it is e>:empt t .~ .::m the payment of the fh:ed ta>: or- the gr-aduated f .i>:ed ta:�:. Ver-y tn.t 1y yc:x..1r-s, (SGD. ) MI SPEL P. 'v�HA ConYnissioner- of Internal Revenue At any r-ate, petitioner-'s attempt to draw suppor-t fr-clln the alleged con�flict of the e >: pr-ess pr-ov .i. si ons of the Ta >: Code and r-espondent's administrative r-uling s for its failure to accr-ue or- deduct the taxes in question in the year-s 1974 to 1977 ha s little or no weight with the Cour-t. Invoking a ll eged conflict of administr-ative r-ulings with the plain ~n~ clear provisions of tax laws to j ust.i fy late or- ncm - paymen t. of ta:�:es ignor-es the ba sic and settled r-u--le that r-~gulations or- r-ulings in conflict W::!..........n law ar-e null and void. (Gr-eenfield vs. Meer-, 77 Phil. 394; Wi s e & Co. vs. Meer-, 78 Phi 1. 655. ) Petitioner- eventua 11 y paid its tax liability as an expor-ter- in 1978 allegedly

DECISION CTA CASE NO. 383 6 - 11 - as a matter of business prudence, but nobody pays hi s taxes because of prudence. A tax is in no way dependent upon the wi 11 or consent of the person Insofar as the fixed taxes and the percentage taxes are concerned for the years 1976- 1977 as contractor/less or of personal property (equipment) amounting to P179.40 and P23,101.10 respectively, petitioner, following the same line of reasoning as previously discu~s!d, claims that as a manufacturer it never vJas pen-:e i ved nor understood by it that the rental income derived from the lease of an equipment would establish a liability to pay the f i>:ed annual tax under Section 192(1) and pe rcentage tax as contractor under Section 205(17) of the Tax Code considering that the rental income fr�om the lease of personal proper-ty was merely an i s olated transaction. Again, this contention of petitioner fails to persuade this Court. Section 188, 192(1) and 205(17) of the Tax Code provide: 'T:>ec � 188. f.:~y[@IJ_t___q_f..P.r:.!.Y:i.:.!�'9~..J::i.:'2:~f?..?.. - A privilege ta:-: ITJ...Ist be paid before any l:x..1siness hereinafter specified can oo lawfully begun or p...1r�sued. The.� ta:-: en l:x..1siness is payable for every separ�a te or distinct establishnent or place

DEC I f.-3 I ON CTA CAS E NO. 3 836 .12 - 1--lt-Er-e b.Jsiness subj ec:t to tl-lf? ta:�: is c:c:nducted; a.nd 9.0.~.......J.to.~....P:f.....J!::!?..~.n.��.~. --Q~--..o9..t_. ~~. . . ~:.~_e;.mpt PY ... gg~og . . .~m9h!~.tg::J. _~,t.t.h ... ~.....Pt~r._J;~,,l?..!D!?.?..?........f.9.r: !tJ.h:i,c:::h ...?.q~;.h... :t�.:.:;. J~?.. ~. . ....P�.,!Q.� The tax en a t:x..tsiness rn..tst be paid by tt-e per-sen, 1i r-m, or- compc.-my conducting tt-e same." "Sec. 192. EJ?.:~... J:.~?.:~. -- <1) E~r..?.f.!l?. ?.!,!PJ.!?<:::.t ....J::P..... ~r:.C:::�'!J_t~g~ .....J:.~t: �-- Ln 1ess otherwise pr-ovided, ever-y per�son e:>ngaging in b..tsiness on 1-'Jhic:h tl-lf? per-centage ta>: is imposF.?<"J shall pay a fixed annual ta:-: of cr1e hundr-ed pesos. ,,,,,, XX>~. II "'~~'' ' ' �� ~~ � 2t)5. [.,g1.t.~~~--t9r.?..,...........P-.r9.P.r..~g_tg_r._?....-...9..r. 9~C<?,t.9.r..?...........9..:f............9.~~t.Y<3\!:Q�.,_..........c=.\D9... ........9..t.~r:?. � - A contr-actor-'s ta:�: of thr-ee per- centum of tt-e gr-oss r-ec:eipt.s is t�Er-eby impc.JSed en tJE following: ( 17) Less or-s o �f pe r-sc:nal pr-oper-ty, e >:cept nonr��esident C.JI,.�,ner�s o �f pr-oper-ty subject to the fin a l ta>' L.U''lc:Jer t:>E:Cti.c:n 2 4(b) (vii) of this Code. }{XX ,,�,,,1_',,,,.,, � II The pr-oviso in Section 1.88 that "one 1 ine of busines s does not become exempt by being conducted 1--1.i. th some other- b u-s . i, n e s s for- which sue h tax has �~ been paid" contempl-?.tes a case wher-e a per-son is engaged in two or- mor-e separ-ate and distinct occupations or- bus .inesses, but may have on 1y one place of business or- office for- their- oper-ation, as is the situation of the petitioner-. Such being the case, it is liable to the payment of as many taxes 50

- DECISION CTA CASE ) . :3836 - 13 - as there are occupations or lines of businesses in which it is engaged, although jointly conducted in a sing 1e off ice for purposes of its operations. (!lagan & Alejandrino vs. The Collector of Internal Revenue, CTA Case No. 4 3, July 25, 1956, which was affirmed by the Supreme Court in G.R. Nos. L-11113 and L- 11134, September 30, 1959, 106 Phil. 277. ) It is then~ �fore a complete misconception of the 1 a~-<1 on the part o �f petitioner to aver that being a manufacturer, petitioner could not have realized in 1976-to 1977 th~t in leasing equipment fr. om which i t derived rental revenue i t ~-<lould be li ab le for the t .:n: as a contractor. For all its pr-etenses, petitioner resorted to strained construction of the law to delay the payment of its ta }: liabilities. And since petitioner had been engaged in the business o �f 1 easing pr o perty since 1976, �for petitioner� to c 1 aim that such business activity as a contractor is an isolated transac tion i s to incur in se lf -co ntradictio~~ Anent the second issue as to whether or not the P.lOO,OOO.OO r-�elocati.OA e}:pense can be deducted .in 1978, the ta}:ab J. e year in question, petitioner maintain s and arg~es that the amount actually 11

DECISION CTA CASE NO. 3836 - 14 - reserved for relocation expense was P300,000.00 and not P400,000.00 as alleged by respondent, hence, the f.i.r-m only added back to income the amount of P300,000.00 as shown in the reconciliation of net income. Thus, no deduction was ever claimed in the income tax return. We do not agree with petitioner. The Bureau of Internal Reve~ue records disclose the fact that indeed P400,000.00 was actually deducted as per investigation conducted by the BIR e;;aminer. The pertinent portion of the worksheet of the BIR e:�:aminer is herE.~under r-epr-oduced: (E>:hibit 1--a, p. l , BIR n~cnn:f) ::?� OthE?r-�s, r1et Interest Inc:ane-�- O...I t s i d e r s 593.08 F. E>:chamJe Loss P 288, (X)(I. 00 673.39 Rent.al Incane Other� Incane Interr�est E:�:rl!?.nse Sh::w�t term debt 1 , :zoe, 611. Z2 Relc:x:::atia1 E:-:pense 400,(X)0.00 "' 0...1stans Claims __. . .!.~:~::_1 1 ~-~~.~~~ !_QQ ~~"~Zh,:�::~.9S~~,:1z This is even supported by petitioner:s evidence showing the amount o�f P1~422,742.00 (Others, net.) , where the amount of P400,000.00 relocation expense was included, and which was unden .i.ab 1y der.:fuc ted by petitioner under Cost and

DECISION -� CTA CASE NO. 3 836 -�- 15 - Expens es from its Net Sales for the year ended 1978, to wit: (Exhibit P, p. 55, BIR record ) 1-<J.R. ffiPCE (FHILIFf'II\ES) If\.C. STATEI"':Nl fF 11\CCl"F.~ PND FET'AINED E.Pf~II\ES Year Ended _ _1.9.7f:J._ 1\ET SPLf~S CDST PND EXF'f.J\EF..:S f'.,ost o �f goods sold P22,749,764 Selling 1,008,325 General and adminis trative 1,976,587 Depreciat. ion I!~ amortizatic:n 122,426 Other~ net * --������!,4Z?.,?4~ E::?7.,.47_9.,.�44 Nowhere in the recor-ds of the case show that the amount actually reserved for relocation expense was only P300,000.00 as claimed by petitioner. All presumptions are in favor of the correctness of tax assessments. The good faith of tax assessors and the v a l.idi ty of their- actions are pres umed. They will b e pn~sumed to have taken into consideration all the facts to which their attention was called. No presumption can be indulged that all of the public officials of the state in the various count.r-.i.es who have to do with the assessment of property for- ta:-:a ticm wi 11 knowing 1 y v io 1ate the du ti.f?. S imposed upon them by 1 aw ( Cornrni ssioner of 516

- DECISION CTA CASE NO. 3836 - 1.6 -- Internal Revenue vs. Construction Resources of Asia, Inc:. and the Court of Ta:-: Appeals, 1.45 SCRA 671). It is incumbent upon the ta:-:payer to show c 1 ear� 1 y that the ta:-: asse.ssmen t is erroneous in order to be relieved from it (Collector of Internal Revenue vs. Boho 1 Land Tr-.::tnsporta ti:on Co. , Bohol Land Trans portation Co., vs. Collector of Internal Revenue, 107 Phil. 965). In_this case, petitioner has not overcome the burden of proof cast upon it. No evidence what s oever was presented by petitioner, either� or�a l or� documen t;:::~ry, which wou 1 d show that P300, 000. (H) actually reser� ved. we are th~::> r� efon2 con ~, .. rained to hold that the relocation e xpen s e of P100,000.00 cannot be allowed as a deduction. Accor�d .i.ng 1 y, pet..i.t..i.oner I.&J. R. Grace (Philippines ) Inc . .i.s hereby ordered to pay to respondent Commi s sioner of Internal Revenue th~ sum of P74,959.26 as deficiency income tax due for the year 1.978 plus 10% surcharge and 20% annual interest from January 12, 1984 up to the date of full payment but not exceeding three (3) years pursuant to Section 51 of the Tax Code, as amended . .:.

l\FCI~J Jot-1 CTA CASE NO . 3836 -��� 1.7 -�- J;JHEF:FFOPE ~ Cot.tr" t. den i.f:?S petition for review for l ac k of merit and af firms the deci s ion a ppealed from at petitioner's costs. SO ORDERED. Quezon City~ ' Metro Mani l a, August 5, 1988. WE CONCUR: AMANTE F Pt- esid inq .~QUIN ,'Judg(�:? .1... f..

DEC IS I 0 1\1 � �� CTA CASE NO. 3836 -- 18 - CERT I F I C AT I 0 N I he reby certify that this decis ion reached a ft er du e con s ult atio n among the me mbers of the Court o f Tax Appea l s in accordance with Section 13, Article VIII of t he Constitution. AMANTE FI Presiding Court of TaN