Professional Documents
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Liban Vs Gordon
Liban Vs Gordon
VIARI
vs.
RICHARD J. GORDON
FACTS:
ISSUE:
Whether the office of the PNRC Chairman is a government office or an office in a
government-owned or controlled corporation for purposes of the prohibition in Section 13,
Article VI of the Constitution.
RATIONALE:
Thus, the PNRC must not only be, but must also be seen to be, autonomous,
neutral and independent in order to conduct its activities in accordance with the
Fundamental Principles. The PNRC must not appear to be an instrument or agency that
implements government policy; otherwise, it cannot merit the trust of all and cannot
effectively carry out its mission as a National Red Cross Society. It is imperative that the
PNRC must be autonomous, neutral, and independent in relation to the State.
RULING:
No, the PNRC is a privately owned, privately funded, and privately run charitable
organization. The PNRC is not a government-owned or controlled corporation.
Petitioners anchor their petition on the 1999 case of Camporedondo v. NLRC, which ruled
that the PNRC is a government-owned or controlled corporation. In ruling that the PNRC
is a government-owned or controlled corporation, the simple test used was whether the
corporation was created by its own special charter for the exercise of a public function or
by incorporation under the general corporation law. Since the PNRC was created under
a special charter, the Court then ruled that it is a government corporation. However, the
Camporedondo ruling failed to consider the definition of a government-owned or
controlled corporation as provided under Section 2(13) of the Introductory Provisions of
the Administrative Code of 1987: