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Antonio P. Callanta, et al. vs. Office of the Ombudsman, et al.

ANTONIO P. CALLANTA, GILBERTO M. DELOS REYES, CESAR Q. CONCON, ALMICAR EDIRA, 1 JACINTO PAHAMTANG, ANTONIO V. ABELLANA, APOLINARIO SALARES, JR. and SHIRLEY PALMERO, petitioners, vs. OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN and CITY GOVERNMENT OF CEBU, respondents.

G.R. Nos. 115253-74 | 1998-01-30

D E C I S I O N

PANGANIBAN, J:

May officials and employees of the Office of the City Assessor reduce the new assessed values of real properties upon requests of the affected property owners? To forestall the practice of initially setting unreasonably high reassessment values only to eventually change them to unreasonably lower values upon "requests" of property owners, the law gives no such authority to the city assessor or his subalterns. Seemingly innocuous occasions for mischief and veiled opportunities for graft should be excised from the public system. Built-in checks should be zealously observed so that the ingenious and shrewd...