NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF LAW
_____________________________________________________________________________________
[CASE NO. 1] Lambino Vs. Comelec Case Digest

G.R. No. 174153Lambino Vs. Comelec G.R. No. 174153Oct. 25 2006

Facts:

Petitioners (Lambino group) commenced gathering signatures for an initiative petition to

change the 1987 constitution, they filed a petition with the COMELEC to hold a plebiscite
that will ratify their initiative petition under RA 6735. Lambino group alleged that the
petition had the support of 6M individuals fulfilling what was provided by art 17 of the
constitution. Their petition changes the1987 constitution by modifying sections 1-7 of Art 6
and sections 1-4 of Art 7 and by adding Art 18.the proposed changes will shift the present
bicameral- presidential form of government to unicameral-parliamentary. COMELEC denied
the petition due to lack of enabling law governing initiative petitions and invoked the
Santiago Vs. Comelec ruling that RA 6735 is inadequate to implement the initiative
petitions.

Issue:

Whether or Not the Lambino Group’s initiative petition complies with Section 2, Article
XVII of the Constitution on amendments to the Constitution through a people’s initiative.
Whether or Not this Court should revisit its ruling in Santiago declaring RA 6735
“incomplete, inadequate or wanting in essential terms and conditions” to implement the
initiative clause on proposals to amend the Constitution. Whether or Not the COMELEC
committed grave abuse of discretion in denying due course to the Lambino Group’s
petition.

Held:

According to the SC the Lambino group failed to comply with the basic requirements for 
conducting a people’s initiative. The Court held that the COMELEC did not grave abuse of
discretion. on dismissing the Lambino petition.1. The Initiative Petition Does Not Comply
with Section 2, Article XVII of the Constitution on Direct Proposal by the People The
petitioners failed to show the court that the initiative signer must be informed at the time
of the signing of the nature and effect, failure to do so is “deceptive and misleading” which
renders the initiative void.2. The Initiative Violates Section 2, Article XVII of the
Constitution Disallowing Revision through Initiatives The framers of the constitution
intended a clear distinction between “amendment” and “revision, it is intended that the
third mode of stated in sec 2 art 17 of the constitution may propose only amendments to
the constitution. Merging of the legislative and the executive is a radical change, therefore a
constitutes a revision.3. A Revisit of Santiago v. COMELEC is Not necessary Even assuming
that RA 6735 is valid, it will not change the result because the present petition violated Sec

MOBINA A.C
 NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF LAW
_____________________________________________________________________________________
2 Art 17 to be a valid initiative, must first comply with the constitution before complying
with RA 6735 Petition is dismissed.

[CASE NO. 2] Manila Prince Hotel v. Government Service Insurance System, G.R. No.
122156, 1997-02-03

Facts:

The controversy arose when respondent Government Service Insurance System (GSIS),
pursuant to the privatization program of the Philippine Government under Proclamation
No. 50 dated 8 December 1986, decided to sell through public bidding 30% to 51% of the
issued and outstanding... shares of respondent MHC. The winning bidder, or the eventual
"strategic partner," is to provide management expertise and/or an international
marketing/reservation system, and financial support to strengthen the profitability and
performance of the Manila Hotel.[2] In a close bidding held on 18 September 1995 only two
(2) bidders participated: petitioner Manila Prince Hotel Corporation, a Filipino corporation,
which offered to buy 51% of the MHC or 15,300,000 shares at P41.58 per share, and
Renong Berhad, a Malaysian firm,... with ITT-Sheraton as its hotel operator, which bid for
the same number of shares at P44.00 per share, or P2.42 more than the bid of petitioner.

Pending the declaration of Renong Berhard as the winning bidder/strategic partner and the
execution of the necessary contracts, petitioner in a letter to respondent GSIS dated 28
September 1995 matched the bid price of P44.00 per share tendered by Renong Berhad.[4]
In a subsequent letter dated 10 October 1995 petitioner sent a manager's check issued by
Phil trust Bank for Thirty-three Million Pesos (P33,000,000.00) as Bid Security to match the
bid of the Malaysian Group, Messrs. Renong Berhad x x x x[5]... which respondent GSIS
refused to accept.

On 17 October 1995, perhaps apprehensive that respondent GSIS has disregarded the
tender of the matching bid and that the sale of 51% of the MHC may be hastened by
respondent GSIS and consummated with Renong Berhad, petitioner came to this Court on
prohibition and mandamus. On

18 October 1995 the Court issued a temporary restraining order enjoining respondents
from perfecting and consummating the sale to the Malaysian firm.

In the main, petitioner invokes Sec. 10, second par., Art. XII, of the 1987 Constitution and
submits that the Manila Hotel has been identified with the Filipino nation and has
practically become a historical monument which reflects the vibrancy of Philippine heritage
and... culture. It is a proud legacy of an earlier generation of Filipinos who believed in the
nobility and sacredness of independence and its power and capacity to release the full

MOBINA A.C
 NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF LAW
_____________________________________________________________________________________
potential of the Filipino people. To all intents and purposes, it has become a part of the
national... patrimony.

Issues:

that Sec. 10, second par., Art. XII, of the 1987 Constitution is clearly not self-executing... that
the non-self-executing nature of Sec. 10, second par. of Art. XII is implied from the tenor of
the first and third paragraphs of the same section which undoubtedly are not self-
executing.

Ruling:

The argument is flawed. If the first... and third paragraphs are not self-executing because
Congress is still to enact measures to encourage the formation and operation of enterprises
fully owned by Filipinos, as in the first paragraph, and the State still needs legislation to
regulate and exercise authority over... foreign investments within its national jurisdiction,
as in the third paragraph, then a fortiori, by the same logic, the second paragraph can only
be self-executing as it does not by its language require any legislation in order to give
preference to qualified Filipinos... in the grant of rights, privileges and concessions covering
the national economy and patrimony. A constitutional provision may be self-executing in
one part and non-self-executing in another. [On the other hand, Sec. 10, second par., Art. XII
of the 1987 Constitution is a mandatory, positive command which is complete in itself and
which needs no further guidelines or implementing laws or rules for its enforcement. From
its very words the provision does not require any... legislation to put it in operation. It is per
se judicially enforceable. When our Constitution mandates that [i]n the grant of rights,
privileges, and concessions covering national economy and patrimony, the State shall give
preference to qualified Filipinos, it means just that.

 qualified Filipinos shall be preferred. And when our Constitution declares that a
right exists in certain specified circumstances an action may be maintained to
enforce such right notwithstanding the absence of any legislation on the subject;
consequently, if there is no... statute especially enacted to enforce such constitutional
right, such right enforces itself by its own inherent potency and puissance, and from
which all legislations must take their bearings. Where there is a right there is a
remedy. Ubi jus ibi remedium.

In its plain and ordinary meaning, the term patrimony pertains to heritage.[35] When the
Constitution speaks of national patrimony, it refers not only to the natural resources of the
Philippines, as the Constitution could have very well used the term natural resources, but
also to the cultural heritage of the Filipinos.

Manila Hotel has become a landmark - a living testimonial of Philippine heritage.

MOBINA A.C
 NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF LAW
_____________________________________________________________________________________
For more than eight (8) decades Manila Hotel has bore mute witness to the triumphs and
failures, loves and frustrations of the Filipinos; its existence is impressed with public
interest; its own historicity associated with our struggle for sovereignty, independence
and... nationhood. Verily, Manila Hotel has become part of our national economy and
patrimony.

For sure, 51% of the equity of the MHC comes within the purview of the constitutional
shelter for it comprises the majority and controlling stock, so that anyone who acquires or
owns the 51%... will have actual control and management of the hotel. In this instance, 51%
of the MHC cannot be disassociated from the hotel and the land on which the hotel edifice
stands. Consequently, we cannot sustain respondents' claim that the Filipino First Policy
provision is not... applicable since what is being sold is only 51% of the outstanding shares
of the corporation, not the Hotel building nor the land upon which the building stands.

The term qualified Filipinos as used in our Constitution also includes corporations at least
60% of which is owned by Filipinos.

In the instant case, where a foreign firm submits the highest bid in a public bidding
concerning the grant of rights, privileges and concessions covering the national economy
and patrimony, thereby exceeding the bid of a Filipino, there is no question that the Filipino
will have... to be allowed to match the bid of the foreign entity. And if the Filipino matches
the bid of a foreign firm the award should go to the Filipino. It must be so if we are to give
life and meaning to the Filipino First Policy provision of the 1987 Constitution. For, while
this may... neither be expressly stated nor contemplated in the bidding rules, the
constitutional fiat is omnipresent to be simply disregarded. To ignore it would be to
sanction a perilous skirting of the basic law.

The Manila Hotel or, for that matter, 51% of the MHC, is not just any commodity to be sold
to the highest bidder solely for the sake of privatization. We are not talking about an
ordinary piece of property in a commercial district. We are talking about a historic relic that
has... hosted many of the most important events in the short history of the Philippines as a
nation. We are talking about a hotel where heads of states would prefer to be housed as a
strong manifestation of their desire to cloak the dignity of the highest state function to
their... official visits to the Philippines. Thus, the Manila Hotel has played and continues to
play a significant role as an authentic repository of twentieth century Philippine history
and culture. In this sense, it has become truly a reflection of the Filipino soul - a place with
a... history of grandeur; a most historical setting that has played a part in the shaping of a
country.

WHEREFORE, respondents GOVERNMENT SERVICE INSURANCE SYSTEM, MANILA HOTEL

CORPORATION, COMMITTEE ON PRIVATIZATION and OFFICE OF THE GOVERNMENT

MOBINA A.C
 NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF LAW
_____________________________________________________________________________________
CORPORATE COUNSEL are directed to CEASE and DESIST from selling 51% of the shares of
the Manila Hotel Corporation to RENONG BERHAD, and... to ACCEPT the matching bid of
petitioner MANILA PRINCE HOTEL CORPORATION to purchase the subject 51% of the
shares of the Manila Hotel Corporation at P44.00 per share and thereafter to execute the
necessary agreements and documents to effect the sale, to issue the necessary... clearances
and to do such other acts and deeds as may be necessary for the purpose.

Principles:

Hence, unless it is expressly provided that a legislative act is necessary to enforce a

constitutional mandate, the presumption now is that all provisions of the constitution are...
self-executing. If the constitutional provisions are treated as requiring legislation instead of
self-executing, the legislature would have the power to ignore and practically nullify the
mandate of the fundamental law.[14] This can be cataclysmic. That is... why the prevailing
view is, as it has always been, that -... x x x x in case of doubt, the Constitution should be
considered self-executing rather than non-self-executing x x x x Unless the contrary is
clearly intended, the provisions of the Constitution should be considered self-executing, as
a contrary rule would give the... legislature discretion to determine when, or whether, they
shall be effective. These provisions would be subordinated to the will of the lawmaking
body, which could make them entirely meaningless by simply refusing to pass the needed
implementing statute.

A constitutional provision may be self-executing in one part and non-self-executing in

another.

MOBINA A.C
 NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF LAW
_____________________________________________________________________________________
[CASE NO. 3] CO KIM CHAM v. EUSEBIO VALDEZ TAN KEH, GR No. L-5., 1945-09-17

Facts:

petition for mandamus in which petitioner prays that the respondent judge of the lower
court be ordered to continue the proceedings in civil case No. 3012 of said court, which
were initiated under the regime of the so-called Republic of the Philippines established
during the Japanese military occupation of these Islands.

respondent judge refused to take cognizance of and continue the proceedings in said case
on the ground that the proclamation issued on October 23, 1944, by General Douglas
MacArthur had the effect of invalidating and nullifying all judicial proceedings and
judgments of the... courts of the Philippines under the Philippine Executive Commission and
the Republic of the Philippines established during the Japanese military occupation... and...
the lower courts have no jurisdiction to take cognizance of and continue judicial
proceedings... pending in the courts of the defunct Republic of the Philippines in the
absence of an enabling law granting such authority.

contends that the government established in the Philippines during the Japanese...
occupation were not de facto governments.

the Imperial Japanese Forces occupied the City of Manila... proclaimed "the Military
Administration under martial law over the districts occupied by the Army."... all the laws
now in force in the Commonwealth, as well as executive and judicial institutions, shall
continue to be effective for the time being as in the past," and "all public officials shall
remain in their present posts and carry on... faithfully their duties as before."

A civil government or central administrative organization under the name of "Philippine

Executive Commission" was organized... and Jorge B. Vargas... was appointed.

Chairman... was instructed to proceed to the immediate coordination of the existing central
administrative organs and of judicial courts, based upon what had existed theretofore, with
the approval of the said Commander in Chief, who was to exercise jurisdiction over... judicial
courts.

Chairman of the Executive Commission, as head of the central administrative organization,

issued Executive Orders Nos. 1 and 4... in which the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals,
Courts of First Instance, and the justices of... the peace and municipal courts under the
Commonwealth were continued with the same jurisdiction, in conformity with the
instructions given to the said Chairman of the Executive Commission by the Commander in
Chief of Japanese Forces in the Philippines

MOBINA A.C
 NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF LAW
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Section 1 of said Order provided that "activities of the administrative organs and judicial
courts in the

Philippines shall be based upon the existing statutes, orders, ordinances and customs * * *."

On October 14, 1943, the so-called Republic of the Philippines was inaugurated, but no
substantial change was affected thereby in the organization and jurisdiction of the different
courts that functioned during the Philippine Executive Commission, and in the laws they...
administered and enforced.

On October 23, 1944, a few days after the historic landing in Leyte, General Douglas
MacArthur issued a proclamation to the People of the Philippines That the Government of
the Commonwealth of the Philippines is, subject to the supreme authority of the
Government of the United States, the sole and only government having legal and valid
jurisdiction over the people in areas of the Philippines free of enemy... occupation and
control.

That the laws now existing on the statute books of the Commonwealth of the Philippines
and the regulations promulgated pursuant thereto are in full force and effect and legally
binding upon the people in areas of the Philippines free of enemy occupation and control
That all laws, regulations and processes of any other government in the Philippines than
that of the said Commonwealth are null and void and without legal effect in areas of the
Philippine free of enemy occupation and control.

City of Manila was partially liberated and on February 27, 1945, General MacArthur, on
behalf of the Government of the United States, solemnly declared "the full powers and
responsibilities under the Constitution restored to the Commonwealth whose seat... is here
re-established as provided by law."

Issues:

Whether the judicial acts and proceedings of the court existing in the Philippines under the
Philippine Executive

Commission and the Republic of the Philippines were good and valid and remained so even
after the liberation or reoccupation of the  Philippines by the United States and Filipino
forces Whether the proclamation issued on October 23, 1944, by General Douglas
McArthur,... Commander in Chief of the United States Army, in which he declared "that all
laws, regulations and processes of any other government in the Philippines than that of the
said Commonwealth are null and void and without legal effect in areas of the Philippines
free of enemy... occupation and control," has invalidated all judgments and judicial acts and
proceedings of the said courts

MOBINA A.C
 NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF LAW
_____________________________________________________________________________________
If the said judicial acts and proceedings have not been invalidated by said proclamation,
whether the present courts of the Commonwealth, which were the same... courts existing
prior to, and continued during, the Japanese military occupation of the Philippines, may
continue those proceedings pending in said courts at the time the Philippines were
reoccupied and liberated by the United States and Filipino forces, and the Commonwealth
of... the Philippines were reestablished in the Islands.

Ruling:

first question, that is, whether or not under the rules of international law the judicial acts
and proceedings of the courts established in the Philippines under the Philippine Executive
Commission and the Republic of the Philippines were... good and valid and remained good
and valid even after the liberation or reoccupation of the Philippines by the United States
and Filipino forces.

It is a legal truism in political and international law that all acts and proceedings of the
legislative, executive, and judicial departments of a de facto government are good and valid.

The question to be determined is whether or not the governments established in... these
Islands under the names of Philippine Executive Commission and Republic of the
Philippines during the Japanese military occupation or regime were de facto governments.
If they were, the judicial acts and proceedings of those governments remain good and valid
even... after the liberation or reoccupation of the Philippines by the American and Filipino
forces.

it is evident that the Philippine Executive Commission, which was organized by Order No. 1,
issued on January 23, 1942, by the Commander of the Japanese forces, was a civil
government established by the military forces of occupation and therefore a... de facto
government of the second kind.

The government established over an enemy's territory during the military... occupation may
exercise all the powers given by the laws of war to the conqueror over the conquered, and is
subject to all restrictions which that code imposes. It is of little consequence whether such
government be called a military or civil government. Its character is the... same and the
source of its authority the same. In either case it is a government imposed by the laws of
war, and so far as it concerns the inhabitants of such territory or the rest of the world, those
laws alone determine the legality or illegality of its acts."

The fact that the Philippine Executive Commission was a civil and not a military
government and was run by Filipinos and not by Japanese nationals, is of no consequence.
In 1806, when Napoleon occupied the greater part of Prussia, he retained the existing
administration... under the general direction of a French official (Langfrey History of

MOBINA A.C
 NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF LAW
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Napoleon, 1, IV, 25); and, in the same way, the Duke of Wellington, on invading France,
authorized the local authorities to continue the exercise of their functions, apparently
without appointing an

English superior.

The so-called Republic of the Philippines, apparently established and organized as a

sovereign state independent from any other government by the Filipino people, was, in
truth and reality, a government established by the belligerent occupant or the Japanese
forces of... occupation. It was of the same character as the Philippine Executive Commission,
and the ultimate source of its authority was the same the Japanese military authority and
government.

Japan had no... legal power to grant independence to the Philippines or transfer the
sovereignty of the United States to, or recognize the latent sovereignty of, the Filipino
people, before its military occupation and possession of the Islands had matured into an
absolute and permanent dominion... or sovereignty by a treaty of peace or other means
recognized in the law of nations. For it is a well-established doctrine in International Law,
recognized in Article 45 of the Hague Conventions of 1907 (which prohibits compulsion of
the population of the occupied territory to... swear allegiance to the hostile power), that
belligerent occupation, being essentially provisional, does not serve to transfer sovereignty
over the territory controlled although the de jure government is during the period of
occupancy deprived of the power to... exercise its rights as such.

The formation of the Republic of the Philippines was a scheme... contrived by Japan to
delude the Filipino people into believing in the apparent magnanimity of the Japanese
gesture of transferring or turning over the rights of government into the hands of Filipinos.
It was established under the mistaken belief that by doing so, Japan would... secure the
cooperation or at least the neutrality of the Filipino people in her war against the United
States and other allied nations.

The governments by the Philippine Executive Commission and the Republic of the
Philippines during the Japanese military occupation being de facto governments, it
necessarily follows that the judicial acts and proceedings of the courts of justice of those
governments,... which are not of a political complexion, were good and valid, and, by virtue
of the well-known principle of postliminy (postliminium) in international law, remained
good and valid after the liberation or reoccupation of the Philippines by the American and
Filipino forces under... the leadership of General Douglas MacArthur.

According to that well-known principle in international law, the fact that a territory which
has been occupied by an enemy comes again into the power of its legitimate government or

MOBINA A.C
 NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF LAW
_____________________________________________________________________________________
sovereignty, "does not, except in a very few cases, wipe out the effects of acts done by an
invader, which for one reason or another it is within his competence to do.

That not only judicial but also legislative acts of de facto governments, which are not of a
political complexion, are and remain valid after reoccupation of a territory occupied, by a
belligerent occupant, is confirmed by the Proclamation issued by General Douglas1

MacArthur on October 23, 1944, which declares null and void all laws, regulations and
processes of the governments established in the Philippines during the Japanese
occupation, for it would not have been necessary for said proclamation to abrogate them if
they were invalid... ab initio.

The second question hinges upon the interpretation of the phrase "processes of any other
government" as used in the above-quoted proclamation of General Douglas MacArthur of
October 23, 1944, that is, whether it was the intention of the Commander in Chief of the
American

Forces to annul and avoid thereby all judgments and judicial proceedings of the courts
established in the Philippines during the Japanese military occupation.

The phrase "processes of any other government" is broad and may refer not only to judicial
processes, but also to administrative or legislative, as well as constitutional, processes of
the Republic of the Philippines or other governmental agencies established in the Islands...
during the Japanese occupation.

according to the well-known principles of international law all judgments and judicial
proceedings, which are not of a political complexion, of the de facto governments during the

Japanese military occupation were good and valid before and remained so after the
occupied territory had come again into the power of the titular sovereign, it should be
presumed that it was not, and could not have been, the intention of General Douglas
MacArthur, in using the... phrase "processes of any other government" in said proclamation,
to refer to judicial processes, in violation of said principles of international law. The only
reasonable construction of the said phrase is that it refers to governmental processes other
than judicial... processes or court proceedings, for according to a well-known rule of
statutory construction, set forth in 25 R. C. L., p. 1028, "a statute ought never to be
construed to violate the law of nations if any other possible construction remains."... the
commanding general of a belligerent army of occupation, as an agent of his government,
may not unlawfully suspend existing laws and promulgate new ones in the occupied
territory, if and when the exigencies of the military occupation demand such action.

MOBINA A.C
 NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF LAW
_____________________________________________________________________________________
It is not to be presumed that General Douglas MacArthur, who enjoined in the same
proclamation of October 23, 1944, "upon the loyal citizens of the

Philippines full respect and obedience to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the
Philippines," should not only reverse the international policy and practice of his own
government, but also disregard in the same breath the provisions of section 3, Article II, of
our Constitution, which provides that "The Philippines renounces war as an instrument of
national policy and adopts the generally accepted principles of international law as part of
the law of the Nation."

And it is... another well-established rule of statutory construction that where great
inconvenience will result from a particular construction, or great public interests; would be
endangered or sacrificed, or great mischief done, such construction is to be avoided, or the
court ought to... presume that such construction was not intended by the makers of the law,
unless required by clear and unequivocal words.

That the proclamation has not invalidated all the judgments and proceedings of the courts
of justice during the Japanese regime, is impliedly confirmed by Executive Order No. 37,
which has the force of law, issued by the President of the Philippines on March 10, 1945, by
virtue... of the emergency legislative power vested in him by the Constitution and the laws
of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. Said Executive Order abolished the Court of
Appeals and provided "that all cases which have heretofore been duly appealed to the Court
of Appeals shall be... transmitted to the Supreme Court for final decision."

There is no doubt that the subsequent conqueror has the right to abrogate most of the acts
of the occupier, such as the laws, regulations and processes other than judicial of the
government established by the belligerent occupant. But in view of the fact that the
proclamation... uses the words "processes of any other government" and not "judicial
processes" precisely, it is not necessary to determine whether or not General Douglas
MacArthur had power to annul and set aside all judgments and proceedings of the courts
during the Japanese occupation. The... question to be determined is whether or not it was
his intention, as representative of the President of the United States, to avoid or nullify
them. If the proclamation had, expressly or by necessary implication, declared null and void
the judicial processes of any other... government, it would be necessary for this court to
decide in the present case whether or not General Douglas MacArthur had authority to
declare them null and void. But the proclamation did not so provide, undoubtedly because
the author thereof was fully aware of the... limitations of his powers as Commander in Chief
of the Military Forces of liberation or subsequent conqueror.

In the case of Raymond vs. Thomas (91 U. S., 712), a special order issued by the officer in
command of the forces of the United States in South Carolina after the end of the Civil War,

MOBINA A.C
 NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF LAW
_____________________________________________________________________________________
wholly annulling a decree rendered by a court of chancery in that state in a case... within its
jurisdiction, was declared void, and not warranted by the acts approved respectively

It was an arbitrary stretch of authority, needful... to no good end that can be imagined.
Whether Congress could have conferred the power to do such an act is a question we are
not called upon to consider. It is an unbending rule of law that the exercise of military
power, where the rights of the citizen are concerned, shall never... be pushed beyond what
the exigency requires.

the proclamation of General MacArthur of October 23, 1944, which declared that "all laws,
regulations and processes of any other government in the Philippines than that of the said
Commonwealth are null and void without legal effect in areas of the

Philippines free of enemy occupation and control," has not invalidated the judicial acts and
proceedings, which are not of a political complexion, of the courts of justice in the
Philippines that were continued by the Philippine Executive Commission and the Republic
of the

Philippines during the Japanese military occupation, and that said judicial acts and
proceedings were good and valid before and are now good and valid after the reoccupation
or liberation of the Philippines by the American and Filipino forces.

The third and last question is whether or not the courts of the Commonwealth, which are
the same as those existing prior to, and continued during, the Japanese military occupation
by the Philippine Executive Commission and by the so-called Republic of the Philippines,
have... jurisdiction to continue now the proceedings in actions pending in said courts at the
time the Philippine Islands were reoccupied or liberated by the American and Filipino
forces, and the Commonwealth Government was restored.

Although in theory the authority of the local civil and judicial administration is suspended
as a matter of course as soon as military occupation takes place, in practice the invader
does not usually take the administration of justice into his own hands but continues the...
ordinary courts or tribunals to administer the laws of the country which he is enjoined,
unless absolutely prevented, to respect.

Executive Order of President McKinley to the Secretary of War on May 19, 1898, "in
practice, they (the municipal laws) ... are not usually abrogated but are allowed to remain in
force and to be administered by the ordinary tribunals substantially as they were before the
occupation.

Taylor in this... connection says: "From a theoretical point of view it may be said that the
conqueror is armed with the right to substitute his arbitrary will for all pre-existing forms

MOBINA A.C
 NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF LAW
_____________________________________________________________________________________
of government, legislative, executive and judicial. From the standpoint of actual practice
such arbitrary... will is restrained by the provision of the law of nations which compels the
conqueror to continue local laws and institutions so far as military necessity will permit."

Following these practice and precepts of the law of nations, the Commander in Chief of the
Japanese Forces proclaimed on January 3, 1942, when Manila was occupied, the military
administration under martial law over the territory occupied by the army, and ordered that
"all the... laws now in force in the Commonwealth, as well as executive and judicial
institutions, shall continue to be effective for the time being as in the past," and "all public
officials shall remain in their present posts and carry on faithfully their duties as before."

If the proceedings pending in the different courts of the Islands prior to the Japanese
military occupation had been continued during the Japanese military administration, the
Philippine Executive Commission, and the so-called Republic of the Philippines, it stands to
reason... that the same courts, which have become reestablished and conceived of as having
been in continued existence upon the reoccupation and liberation of the Philippines by
virtue of the principle of postliminy (Hall, International Law, 7th ed., p. 516), may continue
the... proceedings in cases then pending in said courts, without necessity of enacting a law
conferring jurisdiction upon them to continue said proceedings.

The argument advanced by the respondent judge in his resolution in support of his
conclusion that the Court of First Instance of Manila presided over by him "has no authority
to take cognizance of, and continue said proceedings (of this case) to final judgment until
and unless... the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines * * * shall have
provided for the transfer of the jurisdiction of the courts of the now defunct Republic of the
Philippines, and the cases commenced and left pending therein," is "that said courts were of
a government alien... to the Commonwealth Government. The laws they enforced were, true
enough, laws of the Commonwealth prior to Japanese occupation, but they had become the
laws and the courts had become the institutions of Japan by adoption (U. S. vs. Reiter, 27 F.
Cases, No. 16146), as they... became later on the laws and institutions of the Philippine
Executive Commission and the Republic of the Philippines."

Furthermore, it is a legal maxim, that excepting that of a political nature, "Law once
established continues until changed by some competent legislative power. It is not changed
merely by change of sovereignty."

As courts are creatures of statutes and their existence depends upon that of the laws which
create and confer upon them their jurisdiction, it is evident that such laws, not being of a
political nature, are not abrogated by a change of sovereignty, and continue in force "ex...
proprio vigore" unless and until repealed by legislative acts. A proclamation that said laws
and courts are expressly continued is not necessary in order that they may continue in

MOBINA A.C
 NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF LAW
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force. Such proclamation, if made, is but a declaration of the intention of respecting and
not... repealing those laws.

It is, therefore, obvious that the present courts have jurisdiction to continue, to final
judgment, the proceedings in cases, not of political complexion, pending therein at the time
of the restoration of the Commonwealth Government.

the Court of First Instance of Manila has jurisdiction to continue to final judgment the
proceedings in civil case No. 3012, which involves civil rights of the parties under the laws
of the Commonwealth Government, pending... in said court at the time of the restoration of
the said Government; and that the respondent judge of that court, having refused to act and
continue the said proceedings, which the law specifically enjoins him to do as a duty
resulting from his office as presiding judge of that... court, mandamus is the speedy and
adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law, especially taking into consideration the fact
that the question of jurisdiction herein involved does affect not only this particular case, but
many other cases now pending in all the courts of these

Islands.

In view of all the foregoing, it is adjudged and decreed that a writ of mandamus issue,
directed to the respondent judge of the Court of First Instance of Manila, ordering him to
take cognizance of and continue to final judgment the proceedings in civil case No. 3012 of
said... court. No pronouncement as to costs. So, ordered.

MOBINA A.C
 NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF LAW
_____________________________________________________________________________________
[CASE NO. 4] WALTER LUTZ v. J. ANTONIO ARANETA, GR No. L-7859, 1955-12-22

Facts:

Plaintiff, Walter Lutz, in his capacity as Judicial Administrator of the Intestate Estate of
Antonio Jayme Ledesma, seeks to recover from the Collector of Internal Revenue the sum of
P14,666.40 paid by the estate as taxes, under section 3 of the Act, for the crop years.

1948-1949 and 1949-1950; alleging that such tax is unconstitutional and void, being levied
for the aid and support of the sugar industry exclusively, which in plaintiff's opinion is not a
public purpose for which a tax may be constitutionally levied.

The action having been... dismissed by the Court of First Instance, the plaintiffs appealed
the ease directly to this Court.

Issues:

test the legality of the taxes imposed by Commonwealth Act No. 567, otherwise known as
the Sugar Adjustment Act

Ruling:

the protection and promotion of the sugar industry is a matter of public concern, it follows
that the Legislature may determine within reasonable bounds what is necessary for its
protection and expedient for its promotion'. Here, the... legislative discretion must be
allowed full play, subject only to the test of reasonableness; and it is not contended that the
means provided in section 6 of the law (above quoted) bear no relation to the objective
pursued or are oppressive in character. If objective and methods... are alike constitutionally
valid, no reason is seen why the state may not levy taxes to raise funds for their prosecution
and attainment. Taxation may be made the implement of the state's police power.

That the tax to be levied should burden the sugar producers themselves can hardly be a
ground of complaint; indeed, it appears rational that the tax be obtained precisely from
those who are to be benefited from the expenditure of the funds derived from it. At any rate,
it is... inherent in the power to tax that a state be free to select the subjects of taxation, and
it has been repeatedly held that "inequalities which result from a singling out of one
particular class for taxation, or exemption infringe no constitutional limitation."

From the point of view, we have taken it appears of no moment that the funds raised under
the Sugar Stabilization Act, now in question, should be exclusively spent in aid of the sugar
industry, since it is that very enterprise that is being protected. It may be that other...
industries are also in need of similar protection; but the legislature is not required by the
Constitution to adhere to a policy of "all or none."

MOBINA A.C
 NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF LAW
_____________________________________________________________________________________
[CASE NO. 5] Municipality of Makati v. Court of Appeals G.R. Nos. 89898-99 October 1,
1990

FACTS:

An action for eminent domain was filed by petitioner Municipality of Makati, attached was a
certification that a bank account (Account No. S/A 265-537154-3) opened with the PNB
Buendia Branch. After due hearing, respondent Judge fixed the appraised value of the
property to P5,291,666.00 and ordering petitioner to pay this amount minus the advanced
payment of P338,160.00 which was earlier released to private respondent. Private
respondent moved for the issuance of a writ of execution, followed by the garnishment of
petitioners’ fund with PNB Buendia Branch. Petitioner alleges that it has two accounts with
PNB Buendia:

(1) Account No. S/A 265-537154-3 — exclusively for the expropriation of the subject
property, with an outstanding balance of P99,743.94.

(2) Account No. S/A 263-530850-7 — for statutory obligations and other purposes of the
municipal government, with a balance of P170,098,421.72, as of July 12, 1989.

Petitioner claims that only the first PNB account may be garnished, but not the second.

ISSUE: Is the second PNB account (S/A 263-530850-7) exempt from garnishment?

HELD: YES.

The funds deposited in the second PNB Account No. S/A 263-530850-7 are public funds of
the municipal government. In this jurisdiction, well-settled is the rule that public funds are
not subject to levy and execution, unless otherwise provided for by statute More
particularly, the properties of a municipality, whether real or personal, which are necessary
for public use cannot be attached and sold at execution sale to satisfy a money judgment
against the municipality. Municipal revenues derived from taxes, licenses and market fees,
and which are intended primarily and exclusively for the purpose of financing the
governmental activities and functions of the municipality, are exempt from execution The
foregoing rule finds application in the case at bar. Absent a showing that the municipal
council of Makati has passed an ordinance appropriating from its public funds an amount
corresponding to the balance due under the RTC decision dated June 4, 1987, less the sum
of P99,743.94 deposited in Account No. S/A 265-537154-3, no levy under execution may be
validly affected on the public funds of petitioner deposited in Account No. S/A 263-530850-
7.

WHEREFORE, the Court Resolved to ORDER petitioner Municipality of Makati to

immediately pay Philippine Savings Bank, Inc. and private respondent the

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 NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF LAW
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amount of P4,953,506.45.  Petitioner is hereby required to submit to this Court a report of
its compliance with the foregoing order without non-extendible period of SIXTY (60)
DAYS from the date of receipt of this resolution.

The order of respondent RTC judge dated December 21, 1988, which was rendered in Civil
Case No. 13699, is SET ASIDE and the temporary restraining order issued by the Court on
November 20, 1989, is MADE PERMANENT.

SO, ORDERED.

[CASE NO. 6] Ermita-Malate Hotel V. City Mayor Of Manila, Gr No. L-24693, 1967-07-
31

Facts:

The petition for prohibition against Ordinance No. 4760

There was the assertion of its being beyond the powers of the Municipal Board of the City of
Manila to enact insofar as it would regulate motels, on the ground that in the... revised
charter of the City of Manila or in any other law, no reference is made to motels... impose
P6,000.00 fee per annum... for first class motels and P4,500.00 for second class motels...
require the owner, manager, keeper or duly authorized representative of a hotel, motel, or
lodging house to refrain from entertaining or accepting any guest or... customer or letting
any room or other quarter to any person or persons without his filling up the prescribed
form in a lobby open to public view at all times and in his presence, wherein the surname,
given name and middle name, the date of birth, the address, the occupation,... the sex, the
nationality, the length of stay and the number of companions in the room, if any, with the
name, relationship, age and sex would be specified

The lower court on July 6, 1963, issued a writ of preliminary injunction ordering
respondent Mayor to refrain... from enforcing said Ordinance No. 4760 from and after July
8, 1963.

Primarily what calls for a reversal of such a decision is the absence of any evidence to offset
the presumption of validity that attaches to a challenged statute or ordinance

The challenged ordinance then "proposes to check the clandestine harboring of transients
and guests of these establishments by requiring these transients and guests to fill up a
registration form, prepared for the purpose, in a lobby open to... public view at all times,
and by introducing several other amendatory provisions calculated to shatter the privacy
that characterizes the registration of transients and guests."... exercise of the police power,

MOBINA A.C
 NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF LAW
_____________________________________________________________________________________
which, it cannot be too often emphasized, is the power to prescribe regulations to promote
the health, morals, peace, good order, safety and general... welfare of the people.

Issues:

whether Ordinance No. 4760 of the City of Manila is violative of the due process clause.

The... statute here questioned deals with a subject clearly within the scope of the police
power.

Ruling:

Public welfare, then, lies at the bottom of the enactment of said law, and the state in order
to promote the general welfare may interfere with personal liberty, with property, and with
business and... occupations

Persons and property may be subjected to all kinds of restraints and burdens, in order to
secure the general comfort, health, and prosperity of the state... the judgment of the lower
court is reversed, and the injunction issued lifted forthwith

Principles:

Licenses for non-useful occupations are also incidental to the police power and the... right
to exact a fee may be implied from the power to license and regulate, but in fixing amount
of the license fees the municipal corporations are allowed a much wider discretion in this
class of cases than in the former Liberty is a blessing without which life is a misery, but
liberty should not be made to prevail over authority because then society will fall into
anarchy.

Neither should authority be made to prevail over liberty... because then the individual will
fall into slavery.

MOBINA A.C
 NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF LAW
_____________________________________________________________________________________
[CASE NO. 7] REP. RAUL A. DAZA v. REP. LUIS C. SINGSON, GR No. 86344, 1989-12-21

Facts:

After the congressional elections of May 11, 1987, the House of Representatives
proportionally apportioned its twelve seats in the Commission on Appointments among the
several political parties represented in that chamber on September 16, 1988, the Laban ng
Demokratikong Pilipino was reorganized, resulting in a political realignment in the House
of Representatives.  Twenty-four members of the Liberal Party formally resigned from
that... party and joined the LDP, thereby swelling its number to 159 and correspondingly
reducing their former party to only 17 members.

On the basis of this development, the House of Representatives revised its representation in
the Commission on Appointments by withdrawing the seat occupied by the petitioner and
giving this to the newly formed LDP.  On December 5, 1988, the chamber elected... a new set
of representatives consisting of the original members except the petitioner and including
therein respondent Luis C. Singson as the additional member from the LDP.

The petitioner came to this Court on January 13, 1989, to challenge his removal from the
Commission on Appointments and the assumption of his seat by the respondent.  Acting
initially on his petition for prohibition and injunction with preliminary... injunction, we
issued a temporary restraining order that same day to prevent both the petitioner and the
respondent from serving in the Commission on Appointments.

the contention of the petitioner is that he cannot be removed from the Commission on
Appointments because his election thereto is permanent under the doctrine announced in
Cunanan v. Tan.[5] His... claim is that the reorganization of the House representation in the
said body is not based on a permanent political realignment because the LDP is not a duly
registered political party and has not yet attained political stability.

Issues:

For his part, the respondent argues that the question raised by the petitioner is political in
nature and so beyond the jurisdiction of this Court.

Ruling:

Ruling first on the jurisdictional issue, we hold that, contrary to the respondent's assertion,
the Court has the competence to act on the matter at bar.  Our finding is that what is before
us is not a discretionary act of the House of Representatives that... may not be reviewed by
us because it is political in nature.  What is involved here is the legality, not the wisdom, of
the act of that chamber in removing the petitioner from the Commission on Appointments.

MOBINA A.C
 NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF LAW
_____________________________________________________________________________________
To summarize, then, we hold, in view of the foregoing considerations, that the issue
presented to us is justiciable rather than political, involving as it does the legality and not
the wisdom of the act complained of, or the manner of filling the Commission on

Appointments as prescribed by the Constitution.  Even if the question were political in

nature, it would still come within our powers of review under the expanded jurisdiction
conferred upon us by Article VIII, Section 1, of the Constitution, which includes the...
authority to determine whether grave abuse of discretion amounting to excess or lack of
jurisdiction has been committed by any branch or instrumentality of the government.  As
for the alleged technical flaw in the designation of the party respondent, assuming... the
existence of such a defect, the same may be brushed aside, conformably to existing doctrine,
so that the important constitutional issue raised may be addressed.  Lastly, we resolve that
issue in favor of the authority of the House of Representatives to... change its representation
in the Commission on Appointments to reflect at any time the changes that may transpire in
the political alignments of its membership.  It is understood that such changes must be
permanent and do not include the temporary... alliances or factional divisions not involving
severance of political loyalties or formal disaffiliation and permanent shifts of allegiance
from one political party to another.

The Court would have preferred not to intervene in this matter, leaving it to be settled by
the House of Representatives or the Commission on Appointments as the bodies directly
involved.  But as our jurisdiction has been invoked and, more importantly, because a
constitutional stalemate had to be resolved, there was no alternative for us except to act,
and to act decisively.  In doing so, of course, we are not imposing our will upon the said
agencies, or substituting our discretion for theirs, but merely... discharging our sworn
responsibility to interpret and apply the Constitution.  That is a duty we do not evade, lest
we ourselves betray our oath.

WHEREFORE, the petition is DISMISSED.  The temporary restraining order dated January
13, 1989, is LIFTED.  The Court holds that the respondent has been validly elected as a
member of the Commission on Appointments and is entitled to... assume his seat in that
body pursuant to Article VI, Section 18, of the Constitution.  No pronouncement as to costs.

Principles:

The Court held that this was a justiciable and not a political question, thus:

Such is not the nature of the question for determination in the present case.  Here, we are
called upon to decide whether the election of Senators Cuenco and Delgado by the Senate,
as members of the Senate Electoral Tribunal,... upon nomination by Senator Primicias -- a
member and spokesman of the party having the largest number of votes in the Senate -- on
behalf of its Committee on Rules, contravenes the constitutional mandate that said

MOBINA A.C
 NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF LAW
_____________________________________________________________________________________
members of the Senate Electoral Tribunal... shall be chosen "upon nomination x x x of the
party having the second largest number of votes" in the Senate, and hence, is null and void.  
The Senate is not clothed with "full discretionary authority" in the choice of members of...
the Senate Electoral Tribunal.  The exercise of its power thereon is subject to constitutional
limitations which are claimed to be mandatory in nature.  It is clearly within the legitimate
province of the judicial department to pass upon the... validity of the proceeding in
connection therewith.

In the case now before us, the jurisdictional objection becomes even less tenable and
decisive.  The reason is that, even if we were to assume that the issue presented before us
was political in nature, we would still not be precluded from... resolving it under the
expanded jurisdiction conferred upon us that now covers, in proper cases, even the political
question.  Article VII, Section 1, of the Constitution clearly provides:

Section 1.  The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower
courts as may be established by law.

Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual controversies
involving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine whether
or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of...
jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the Government.

MOBINA A.C
 NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF LAW
_____________________________________________________________________________________
[CASE NO. 8] REPUBLIC VS. BAYAO, GR NO. 179492

MOBINA A.C