ARTICLE 14. Each State shall determine the portion of its tax proceeds to be allocated to its local governments. Likewise, it shall decide what tax authority it may empower its local governments, not to exceed 20 percent of the particular tax authority granted to the States.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
Article 11 enumerates the taxes that shall be imposed exclusively by the States and the areas of tax jurisdiction where the State has concurrent jurisdiction with the Federal Government.
All the taxes raised by the States under Article 11 be earmarked to promote the democratization of wealth. Note that the States are subject to substantial limitations in the imposition of income and capital gains taxes as well as donations and inheritance taxes. There is no limitation on the power of the Federal Government to impose those taxes.
Article 12 provides for a co-sharing of taxes between the Federal Government and the States. Thus, the Federal Government shall have a share of 20% in all State taxes on privately owned real estate, and excise taxes of all kinds, as well as taxes on gasoline and petroleum products, hard liquor, tobacco, cigars, cigarettes, gambling, and amusements.
The State will have a share of 30% of all Federal taxes collected in their respective States and 50 percent of taxes, rents and royalties on all mineral resources.
Article 13 creates the Tax Collection Authority which shall have full powers to collect all kinds of taxes belonging to all levels of Government. The Authority will distribute the proceeds of the taxes to the different levels of Government as provided for in this Constitution and by-laws from Parliament and from the State Assemblies.
Article 14 empowers each State to apportion its tax proceeds among its local governments and to grant them a tax not to exceed twenty percent of the one granted to the State.
Article 15. Metro Manila, as now constituted, shall be the seat of the Federal Republic, and its territory shall be excluded from the jurisdiction of the States of Luzon. Metro Manila will be governed by a Special Charter to be enacted by the Federal Troika.
On matters of taxation, Metro Manila shall have the same tax authority as that granted to the States under the Constitution.
Article 16. Conflicts and doubts on jurisdiction between the Federal Government and any of the States shall be decided expeditiously by the Constitutional Tribunal, en banc or in division, depending on the seriousness of the controversy.
Article 17. Each State shall enact its own Constitution subject to the limitations provided herein and in other parts of this Federal Constitution and includes the following;
- The pattern of the State Government shall be similar to that of the Federal Government, with a Troika at the top, elected by the State Assembly in the same manner as the Troika of the Federal Government.
The Troika of the State shall be composed of the Governor-General who shall have jurisdiction over peace and order, justice, culture, education, media, and all matters related to the development of human resources in the spirit of an effective and meaningful democracy for all, as well as interstate and State-Federal relations; the Premier who shall have jurisdiction over natural resources and economic development; the Speaker of the State Assembly who shall have jurisdiction over the proper performance of the State Assembly.
The Troika shall prepare the legislative program of the State Government.
- The political subdivisions of the State are the provinces, divided into municipalities and the latter into barrios. As an exception, an area may be converted by the State into a city. A State may however decide to reduce its levels of government into counties, divided into cities.
- High officials in the local level belonging to the legislative or executive departments may be elected directly by the people or by a pyramidal system; thus, the electors in a barrio will elect the barrio councilors who will elect among themselves the barrio captain, who shall serve as ex-officio member of the municipal council which will elect among themselves the municipal mayor, who is an ex-officio member of the provincial Council, the members of which will elect among themselves the Troika of the province. Modification of the pyramidal system may be provided for in the State Constitution.
- A city or municipality may, according to its discretion, as provided for in the State Constitution, adopt the system of having a manager vested with the executive powers of the local government.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
The States will start functioning even before their respective Constitutions have been adopted. The Troika of the Federal Government can provide a standard State Constitution to cover areas not clearly provided for in this Constitution. (To be continued/PN)
