G.R. No.

76607 February 26, 1990

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, FREDERICK M. SMOUSE AND YVONNE REEVES, petitioners,

vs.
HON. ELIODORO B. GUINTO, Presiding Judge, Branch LVII, Regional Trial Court, Angeles
City, ROBERTO T. VALENCIA, EMERENCIANA C. TANGLAO, AND PABLO C. DEL
PILAR, respondents.

FACTS:

These are consolidated cases which involve the doctrine of state immunity. The United States of
America was not impleaded in the case at bar but has moved to dismiss on the ground that they are
in effect suits against it to which it has not consented.

The private respondents are suing several officers of the US Air Force in Clark Air Base in
connection with the bidding conducted by them for contracts for barber services in the said base,
which was won by Dizon. The respondents wanted to cancel the award because they claimed that
Dizon had included in his bid an area not included in the invitation to bid, and also, to conduct a
rebidding.

ISSUE:

Whether or not the defendants were immune from suit under the RP-US Bases Treaty for acts done
by them in the performance of their official duties.

RULING:

The rule that a State may not be sued without its consent is one of the generally accepted principles
of international law that were have adopted as part of the law of our land. The rule is that if the
judgment against such officials will require the state itself to perform an affirmative act to satisfy the
same, the suit must be regarded as against the state although it has not been formally impleaded.
When the government enters into a contract, it is deemed to have descended to the level of the
other contracting party and divested of its sovereign immunity from suit with its implied consent.

The court finds the barbershops subject to the concessions granted by the US government to be
commercial enterprises operated by private persons. Accordingly, this case was remanded to the
court below for further proceedings.