Temperature dependence of the X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectra at the Pr L 3 -and Tb L 3 -edges was measured for the (Pr 1−y Tb y ) 0.7 Ca 0.3 CoO 3 system, in which a metalinsulator (MI) and spin-state (SS) transition took place simultaneously at a critical temperature T MI . A small increase in the valence of the terbium ion was found below T MI , besides the enhancement of the praseodymium valence; the trivalent states, which are stable at room temperature, change to a 3+/4+ ionic mixture at low temperatures. In particular for the y=0.2 sample, the average valence determined at 8 K amounts to 3.25+ and 3.03+ for the Pr and Tb ion, respectively.In analogous (Pr 1−y RE y ) 0.7 Ca 0.3 CoO 3 samples (RE=Sm and Eu), in which the MI-SS transition also took place, no valence shift of the RE ion was detected in the XANES spectra at the RE ion L 3 -edge. The role of the substituted RE ion for the Pr-site on the MI-SS transition is discussed.