Professional Documents
Culture Documents
FACTS:
BP Blg. 33 was enacted to penalize illegal trading, hoarding, overpricing, adulteration, underdelivery, and underfilling of
petroleum products, as well as possession for trade of adulterated petroleum products and of underfilled liquefied
petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders.
The law sets a minimum of P20,000 and a maximum of P50,000 as penalties.
The Department of Energy issued Circular No. 2000-06-010 to implement the law.
Respondent LPG Refillers Association of the Philippines asked the DOE to set aside the Circular for being contrary to law but
to no avail, hence they filed an action before the RTC to nullify the circular.
RTC granted the petition and nullified the Circular on the ground that it introduced new offenses not included in the
statute.
o Moreover, in providing penalties on a per cylinder basis for each violation, there is a possibility that the P50,000
maximum penalty might be exceeded.
o The Circular has a range of P1,000-5,000/cylinder for first offenses and a range of P5,000-10k/cylinder for third
offenses. For retails outlets, the max penalty is 20k.
o Aside from the monetary fines, some offenses also include the recommendation the closure of the business to the
proper LGU.
Meanwhile, petitioner Sec. Perez of the DOE argues that DOE is empowered by the ff. provisions to penalize the acts it
enumerated in the circular:
The Bureau of Energy Utilization is empowered to impose in an administrative proceeding, after due
notice and hearing, upon any person who violates any provision of such rules and regulations, a fine of
not more than ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00) or to suspend or remove the license or permit of a
hauler, marketer, refiller, dealer, sub-dealer or retail outlet: Provided, That hearing in any administrative
proceedings may be waived by respondent. Provided, Further, That during the pendency of such
administrative proceeding, the Bureau may suspend the business operations of such hauler, marketer,
refiller, dealer, sub-dealer or retailer or retail outlet operator when the suspension is consistent with
public interest.
xxxx
The administrative sanction that may be imposed shall be without prejudice to the filing of a criminal
action as the case may warrant.
(g) Formulate and implement programs, including a system of providing incentives and penalties, for the
judicious and efficient use of energy in all energy-consuming sectors of the economy;
xxx
Subject to existing rules and regulations, the funds and monies collected or which the otherwise come
into the possession of the Department and its bureaus from fees, surcharges, fines, and penalties which
the Department and its bureaus may impose and collect under this Act
ISSUES + RULING:
DISPOSITION:Petition granted.
Geotina v. CA
articles of prohibited importation - used in Tariff and Customs Code embrace not only those declared prohibited at time of
adoption, but also goods and articles subject of activities undertaken in subsequent laws.
Claudio v. COMELEC
Topic: Recall
Ponente: V.V. Mendoza, J.
Date: 4 May 2000
DOCTRINE: To what doctrine is the case related and how is it explained. Make sure that this is related to the topic.
QUICK FACTS: One to two liner facts.
FACTS:
LGU concerned: Pasay City
Position of person/s involved: Mayor of Pasay City
Contested Law/Ordinance:
Jovito O. Claudio (Claudio) was duly elected mayor of Pasay City in the May 11, 1998 elections. Sometime in May 1999, the chairs of
several barangays in Pasay City gathered for the purpose of convening the Preparatory Recall Assembly (PRA) and to file a petition
for recall against Mayor Claudio for loss of confidence.
On May 29, 1999, 1,073 members of the PRA composed of barangay chairs, kagawads, and sangguniang kabataan chairs of Pasay
City, adopted Resolution No. 01, S-1999 recalling Claudio as mayor for loss of confidence. The petition for recall was filed on July 2,
1999 and copies of the petition were in public areas throughout the City.
Claudio filed an opposition against the petition alleging, among others, that the petition for recall was filed within one year from his
assumption into office and therefore prohibited. He argued that the PRA was convened within the 1 year prohibited period as
provided by Section 74 of the Local Government Code. The COMELEC, however, granted the petition for recall ruling that recall is a
process which starts with the filing of the petition for recall and since the petition was filed exactly one year and a day after Claudio's
assumption of office, the petition was filed on time. Thereafter, COMELEC set the date of the recall elections on April 15, 2000.
Hence, this petition.
ISSUE: WoN the petition for recall was filed within the proper period provided for by Section 74 of the Local Government Code
HELD: Yes. SC Affirmed COMELEC
The limitations in Section 74 apply to the exercise of the power of recall (i.e. the recall election itself) which is vested with the
registered voters of the LGU. It does not apply to the preparatory processes to such exercise of recall such as the proceedings of the
PRA.
RATIO:
Recall as used in Section 74 refers to the election itself
We can agree that recall is a process which begins with the convening of the preparatory, recall assembly or the gathering of the
signatures at least 25% of the registered voters of a local government unit, and then proceeds to the filing of a recall resolution or
petition with the COMELEC, the verification of such resolution or petition, the fixing of the date of the recall election, and the
holding of the election on the scheduled date. However, as used in paragraph (b) of 74, "recall" refers to the election itself by
means of which voters decide whether they should retain their local official or elect his replacement.
Section 69 of the Local Government Code provides that "the power of recall ...shall be exercised by the registered voters of a local
government unit to which the local elective official belongs." Since the power vested on the electorate is not the power to initiate
recall proceedings but the power to elect an official into office, the limitations in 74 cannot be deemed to apply to the entire recall
proceedings. In other words, the term "recall" in paragraph (b) refers only to the recall election, excluding the convening of the PRA
and the filing of a petition for recall with the COMELEC, or the gathering of the signatures of at least 25 % of the voters for a petition
for recall.
Anything steps prior to recall election itself are merely preliminary steps for the purpose of initiating a recall. The limitations in 74
apply only to the exercise of the power of recall which is vested in the registered voters. It is this - and not merely, the preliminary
steps required to be taken to initiate a recall - which paragraph (b) of 74 seeks to limit by providing that no recall shall take place
within one year from the date of assumption of office of an elective local official.
The proceedings of the PRA do not constitute the exercise of recall
It is the power to recall and not the power to initiate recall that the Constitution gave to the people. A recall resolution "merely sets
the stage for the official concerned before the tribunal of the people so he can justify why he should be allowed to continue in
office. [But until] the people render their sovereign judgment, the official concerned remains in office. Thus, the preliminary
proceedings of the PRA do not produce a decision by the electorate on whether the local official concerned continues to enjoy the
confidence of the people, then, the prohibition in paragraph (b) against the holding of a recall, except one year after the official's
assumption of office, cannot apply to such proceedings.
Purpose of the one year prohibitory period against the exercise of recall
The purpose of the first limitation is to provide a reasonable basis for judging the performance of an elective local official. Hence, in
this case, as long as the election is held outside the one-year period, the preliminary proceedings to initiate a recall can be held even
before the end of the first year in office of a local official.
Including the convening of the PRA as part of recall restricts right of speech and assembly
Third, to construe the term "recall" in paragraph (b) as including the convening of the PRA for the purpose of discussing the
performance in office of elective local officials would be to unduly restrict the constitutional right of speech and of assembly of its
members. The people cannot just be asked on the day of the election to decide on the performance of their officials. The
crystallization and formation of an informed public opinion takes time. To hold, therefore, that the first limitation in paragraph (b)
includes the holding of assemblies for the exchange of ideas and opinions among citizens is to unduly curtail one of the most
cherished rights in a free society. Indeed, it is wrong to assume that such assemblies will always eventuate in a recall election. To the
contrary, they may result in the expression of confidence in the incumbent.
The phrase regular local election does not include the campaign period
Claudio contends that the date April 15, 2000 also falls within the second prohibition under Section 74 of the Local Government
Code arguing that the phrase "regular local elections" in paragraph (b) does not only mean "the day of the regular local election"
which, for the year 2001 is May 14, but the election period as well. Hence, he contends that beginning March 30, 2000, no recall
election may be held.
The contention is untenable. First there is nothing in the law that shows the campaign period is included for purposes of computing
the prohibitory period. Moreover, petitioner's interpretation would severely limit the period during which a recall election may be
held. Actually, because no recall election may be held until one year after the assumption of office of an elective local official,
presumably on June 30 following his election, the free period is only the period from July 1 of the following year to about the middle
of May of the succeeding year. This is a period of only nine months and 15 days, more or less. To construe the second limitation in
paragraph (b) as including the campaign period would reduce this period to eight months. Such an interpretation must be rejected,
because it would devitalize the right of recall which is designed to make local government units" more responsive and accountable."
32. Preference of the Reparian Owner The owner of the property adjoining foreshore lands, marshy lands or
lands covered with water bordering upon shores or banks of navigable lakes or rivers, shall be given preference to
apply for such lands adjoining his property as may not be needed for the public service, subject to the laws and
regulations governing lands of this nature, provided that he applies therefor within sixty (60) days from the date he
receives a communication from the Director of Lands advising him of his preferential right.
Considering that the foreshore land abutting upon Santolan's lot is in the same situation as the foreshore land abutting upon
Monzon's lot, there is no reason why Santulan should not enjoy, with respect to the disputed foreshore land, the rights given to
Monzon over the foreshore land adjacent to his lot.
That rule in paragraph 32 is in consonance with article 4 of the Spanish Law of Waters of 1866 which provides that, while lands
added to the shores by accretions and alluvial deposits caused by the action of the sea form part of the public domain, such lands,
"when they are no longer washed by the waters of the sea and are not necessary for purposes of public utility, or for the
establishment of special industries, or for the coast guard service", shall be declared by the Government "to be the property of the
owner of the estates adjacent thereto and as increment thereof" (cited in Ignacio vs. Director of Lands, 108 Phil. 335, 338).
In other words, article 4 recognizes the preferential right of the littoral owner (riparian according to paragraph 32) to the foreshore
land formed by accretions or alluvial deposits due to the action of the sea (Ker & Co. vs. Cauden 6 Phil. 732, 736, 223 U.S. 268, 56 L.
Ed. 432, 435; Jover vs. Insular Government, 10 Phil. 522, 40 Phil. 1094, 1100, 221 U.S. 623, 55 L. Ed. 884).
The reason for that preferential right is the same as the justification for giving accretions to the riparian owner, which is that
accretion compensates the riparian owner for the diminutions which his land suffers by reason of the destructive force of the waters
(Cortes vs. City of Manila, 10 Phil. 567). So, in the case of littoral lands, he who loses by the encroachments of the sea should gain by
its recession (Banks vs. Ogden 2 Wall. 57, 67, 17 L. Ed. 818, 821).
The lease application of Julian Santulan mentioned in the order of February 1, 1951 should be recorded in the names of his heirs and
the obligation to make reimbursement mentioned in the dispositive part of the Undersecretary's order should now devolve upon
the heirs of Santolan. The reimbursement should be made to the heirs of the late Antonio Lusin The obligation to vacate the
disputed land, as required in the Director's order of October 19, 1951 devolves upon the heirs of Lusin Costs in both instances
against respondent heirs of Lusin (As amended by Resolution of February 17, 1977.
Gonzales v. Comelec
In June 1967, Republic Act 4913 was passed. This law provided for the COMELEC to hold a plebiscite for the proposed amendments
to the Constitution. It was provided in the said law that the plebiscite shall be held on the same day that the general national
elections shall be held (November 14, 1967). This was questioned by Ramon Gonzales and other concerned groups as they argued
that this was unlawful as there would be no proper submission of the proposals to the people who would be more interested in the
issues involved in the general election rather than in the issues involving the plebiscite.
Gonzales also questioned the validity of the procedure adopted by Congress when they came up with their proposals to amend the
Constitution (RA 4913). In this regard, the COMELEC and other respondents interposed the defense that said act of Congress cannot
be reviewed by the courts because it is a political question.
ISSUE:
I. Whether or not the act of Congress in proposing amendments is a political question.
II. Whether or not a plebiscite may be held simultaneously with a general election.
HELD:
I. No. The issue is a justiciable question. It must be noted that the power to amend as well as the power to propose amendments to
the Constitution is not included in the general grant of legislative powers to Congress. Such powers are not constitutionally granted
to Congress. On the contrary, such powers are inherent to the people as repository of sovereignty in a republican state. That being,
when Congress makes amendments or proposes amendments, it is not actually doing so as Congress; but rather, it is sitting as a
constituent assembly. Such act is not a legislative act. Since it is not a legislative act, it is reviewable by the Supreme Court. The
Supreme Court has the final say whether or not such act of the constituent assembly is within constitutional limitations.
II. Yes. There is no prohibition to the effect that a plebiscite must only be held on a special election. SC held that there is nothing in
this provision of the [1935] Constitution to indicate that the election therein referred to is a special, not a general election. The
circumstance that the previous amendment to the Constitution had been submitted to the people for ratification in special elections
merely shows that Congress deemed it best to do so under the circumstances then obtaining. It does not negate its authority to
submit proposed amendments for ratification in general elections.
Note: **Justice Sanchez and Justice JBL Reyes dissented. Plebiscite should be scheduled on a special date so as to facilitate Fair
submission, intelligent consent or rejection. They should be able to compare the original proposition with the amended
proposition.
Commissioner of Customs v. CA
Canlas v. Republic
This is a Petition for Prohibition and Injunction seeking to enjoin and prohibit the Executive Branch from allowing, and the private
respondents from continuing with, the operation of tax and duty-free shops located at the Subic Special Economic Zone (SSEZ) and
the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ), and to declare Section 5 of EO No. 80, EO No. 97-A, and Section 4 of BCDA Board Resolution
No. 93-05-034 as unconstitutional, illegal, and void.
FACTS:
1992, RA No. 7227 was enacted, providing for, the sound and balanced conversion of the Clark and Subic military
reservations and their extensions into alternative productive uses in the form of special economic zones in order to
promote the economic and social development of Central Luzon in particular and the country in general. Among the salient
provisions are as follows:
SECTION 12. x x x The Subic Special Economic Zone shall be operated and managed as a separate customs territory
ensuring free flow or movement of goods and capital within, into and exported out of the Subic Special Economic Zone, as
well as provide incentives such as tax and duty-free importations of raw materials, capital and equipment. However,
exportation or removal of goods from the territory of the Subic Special Economic Zone to the other parts of the Philippine
territory shall be subject to customs duties and taxes under the Customs and Tariff Code and other relevant tax laws of the
Philippines; x x x
1993, President Ramos issued EO No. 80, which declared, that Clark shall have all the applicable incentives granted to the
Subic Special Economic and Free Port Zone under RA No. 7227.
Pursuant to the directive under EO No. 80, the BCDA (Bases Conversion and Development Authority) passed Resolution
allowing the tax and duty-free sale at retail of consumer goods imported via Clark for consumption outside the CSEZ.
ISSUE: Whether or not the assailed issuances are unconstitutional, illegal and void for being:
1. An exercise of executive lawmaking, contrary to RA No. 7227
2. Violation of the Constitutional provisions, particularly the equal protection clause;
3. Prohibition of unfair competition and combinations in restraint of trade; and
HELD:
1. EXECUTIVE LEGISLATION - Invalid insofar as the CSEZ (Clark Special Economic Zone), as RA 7227 provides for the grant of
incentives to the SSEZ (Subic Special Economic Zone)
petitioners contend that the wording of RA No. 7227 clearly limits the grant of tax incentives to the importation of raw materials,
capital and equipment only. Hence, they claim that the assailed issuances constitute executive legislation for invalidly granting tax
incentives in the importation of consumer goods such as those being sold in the duty-free shops, in violation of the letter and intent
of RA No. 7227.
The Court held that Section 12 of RA No. 7227 clearly does not restrict the duty-free importation only to 'raw materials, capital and
equipment. To limit the tax-free importation privilege of enterprises located inside the special economic zone only to raw materials,
capital and equipment clearly runs counter to the intention of the Legislature to create a free port where the 'free flow of goods or
capital within, into, and out of the zones' is insured. The phrase 'tax and duty-free importations of raw materials, capital and
equipment was merely cited as an example of incentives that may be given to entities operating within the zone.
On the other hand, insofar as the CSEZ is concerned, the case for an invalid exercise of executive legislation is tenable.
While Section 12 of RA No. 7227 expressly provides for the grant of incentives to the SSEZ, it fails to make any similar grant in favor
of other economic zones, including the CSEZ. Tax and duty-free incentives being in the nature of tax exemptions, the basis thereof
should be categorically and unmistakably expressed from the language of the statute. Consequently, in the absence of any express
grant of tax and duty-free privileges to the CSEZ in RA No. 7227, there would be no legal basis to uphold the questioned portions of
two issuances: Section 5 of Executive Order No. 80 and Section 4 of BCDA Board Resolution No. 93-05-034, which both pertain to the
CSEZ.
In this case, the Court found that theres real and substantial distinction between residents within the secured area and those living
within the economic zone but outside the fenced-off area. A significant distinction between the two groups is that enterprises
outside the zones maintain their businesses within Philippine customs territory, while private respondents and the other duly-
registered zone enterprises operate within the so-called 'separate customs territory.
The classification is also germane to the purpose of RA No. 7227 because its purpose is to convert the lands formerly occupied by
the US military bases into economic or industrial areas. In furtherance of such objective, Congress deemed it necessary to extend
economic incentives to the establishments within the zone to attract and encourage foreign and local investors.
Escribano v. Avila
Case No. 101
G.R. No. L-30375 (September 12, 1978)
Chapter V, Page 229, Footnote No. 205
FACTS:
Congressman Salipada Pendatun of Cotobato, filed a complaint for libel
against Mayor Jose Escribano of Tacurong before the Court of First Instance (now the
RTC) to Judge David Avila. Escribano questioned Judge Avilas authority to conduct
the preliminary investigation of the offense. He contended that the city fiscal of
Cotobato is the only one empowered to conduct the preliminary investigation,
pursuant of RA 4363 and Art. 360 of the RPC which does not empower the Court of
First Issuance to conduct preliminary investigations of written defamations due to an
amendment made for Art 360.
ISSUE:
Whether the Court of First Issuance is invested with the authority to conduct
the preliminary investigation of the crime of libel or whether that power is lodged
exclusively in the city attorney of that city.
HELD:
Yes. The Court of First Issuance may conduct preliminary investigations
because this power is not lodged exclusively in the city attorney. The enumeration in
the law of the public officers and the courts that may conduct preliminary
investigations was designed to divest the ordinary municipal court of that power but
not to deprive the Court of First Instance of that same power. The power of the CFT to
conduct a preliminary investigation is derived from the constitutional grant of power
for a judge to hold a preliminary examination and to issue warrants of arrest and
search warrants. What is important to remember is that preliminary investigations by
the CFT is the exception to the rule and not the general rule.
People v. Manantan
Facts:
Guillermo Manantan was charged with a violation of Section 54, Revised Election Code. However, Manantan claims that as "justice
of peace", the defendant is not one of the officers enumerated in the said section. The lower court denied the motion to dismiss
holding that a justice of peace is within the purview of Section 54.
Under Section 54, "No justice, judge, fiscal, treasurer, or assessor of any province, no officer or employee of the Army, no member of
the national, provincial, city, municipal or rural police force and no classified civil service officer or employee shall aid any candidate,
or exert any influence in any manner in a election or take part therein, except to vote, if entitled thereto, or to preserve public
peace, if he is a peace officer.".
Defendant submits that the said election was taken from Section 449 of the Revised Administration Code wherein, "No judge of the
First Instance, justice of the peace, or treasurer, fiscal or assessor of any province and no officer or employee of the Philippine
Constabulary, or any Bureau or employee of the classified civil service, shall aid any candidate or exert influence in any manner in
any election or take part therein otherwise than exercising the right to vote.". He claims that the words "justice of peace" was
omitted revealed the intention of Legislature to exclude justices of peace from its operation.
Issue:
Is justice of peace included in the prohibition of Section 64 of the Revised Election Code?
Held:
Yes, it is included in Section 54. Justices of the peace were expressly included in Section 449 of the Revised Administrative Code
because the kinds of judges therein were specified, i.e., judge of the First Instance and justice of the peace. In Section 54, however,
there was no necessity therefore to include justices of the peace in the enumeration because the legislature had availed itself of the
more generic and broader term, "judge.", which includes all kinds of judges.
A "justice of the peace" is a judge. A "judge" is a public officer, who, by virtue of his office, is clothed with judicial authority. This
term includes all officers appointed to to decide litigated questions while acting in that capacity, including justices of the peace, and
even jurors, it is said, who are judges of facts.
From the history of Section 54 of REC, the first omission of the word "justice of the peace" was effected in Section 48 of
Commonwealth Act No. 357 and not in the present code as averred by defendant-appellee. Whenever the word "judge" was
qualified by the phrase "of the First Instance', the words "justice of the peace" were omitted. It follows that when the legislature
omitted the words "justice of the peace" in RA 180, it did not intend to exempt the said officer from its operation. Rather, it had
considered the said officer as already comprehended in the broader term "judge".
The rule of "casus omisus pro omisso habendus est" is likewise invoked by the defendant-appellee. Under the said rule, a person,
object or thing omitted from an enumeration must be held to have been omitted intentionally. However, it is applicable only if the
omission has been clearly established. In the case at bar, the legislature did not exclude or omit justices of the peace from the
enumeration of officers precluded from engaging in partisan political activities. In Section 54, justices of the peace were just called
"judges". Also, the application of this rule does not proceed from the mere fact that a case is criminal in nature, but rather from a
reasonable certainty that a particular person, object or thing has been omitted from a legislative enumeration. In the case at bar,
there is no omission but only substitution of terms.
The rule that penal statutes are given a strict construction is not the only factor controlling the interpretation of such laws; instead,
the rule merely serves as an additional, single factor to be considered as an aid in determining the meaning of penal laws.
Also, the purpose of the statute s to enlarge the officers within its purview. Justices of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, and
various judges, such as the judges of the Court of Industrial Relations, judges of the Court of Agrarian Relations, etc., who were not
included in the prohibition under the old statute, are now within its encompass.
The rule "expressio unius est exclusion alterius" has been erroneously applied by CA and lower courts because they were not able to
give reasons for the exclusion of the legislature for the term "justices of peace".
Roldan v Villaroman
Case No. 262
G.R. No. 46825 (October 18, 1939)
Chapter V, Page 234, Footnote No. 229
FACTS:
Respondents were charged of murder. During the trial, Respondent Cuevas
became ill and had to be confined to a hospital. Judge Roldan, the Petitioner,
denied the Respondents for postponement of the trial on the ground of illness of
Cuevas. The court also compelled the counsel of the accused to present evidence
and their witnesses and ordered to arrest the accused. Respondents then instituted a
certiorari proceeding in the Court of Appeals against the Petitioner, impugning the
decision of the judge for proceeding with the case in the absence of Cuevas. The
CA then issued a writ of preliminary injunction ordering Judge Roldan from continuing
with the trial.
ISSUE:
W/N the CA has jurisdiction over the case.
HELD:
No. The CA resolutions denying the motions of the Solicitor-General rely
principally upon the decision rendered in the case of Mujer vs. CFI of Laguna, which
held that the phrase in aid of its appellate jurisdiction only refers to its proximate
antecedent and to all other auxiliary writs and process. This ruling is in conjunction
with the rule of interpretation that a qualifying phrase should be understood as
referring to the nearest antecedent. Moreover, the rule in the interpretation applied is
in fact the general rule in the interpretation of qualifying or conditional phrases found
in a law, but this rule is subject to the exception that where the intention of the law is
to apply the phrase to all the antecedents embraced in the provision, the same
should be made extensive to the whole.