US vs BARRIAS

GR No. 4349, September 24, 1908

FACTS:
 In 1904, Congress, through a law, Act No. 1136, authorized the Collector of
Customs to regulate the business of lighterage. Lighterage is a business
involving the shipping of goods by use of lighters or cascos (small
ships/boats). The said law also provides that the Collector may promulgate
such rules to implement Act No. 1136. Further, Act No. 1136 provides that in
case a fine is to be imposed, it should not exceed one hundred dollars.
Pursuant to this, the Collector promulgated Circular No. 397.

 Meanwhile, Aniceto Barrias was caught navigating the Pasig River using a
lighter which is manually powered by bamboo poles (sagwan). Such is a
violation of Circular No. 397 because under said Circular, only steam powered
ships should be allowed to navigate the Pasig River. However, in the
information against Barrias.

 For the violation of any part of the foregoing regulations, the persons
offending shall be liable to a fine of not less than P5 and not more than P500,
in the discretion of the court. Barrias now challenged the validity of such
provision of the Circular as it is entirely different from the penal provision of
Act. No. 1136 which only provided a penalty of not exceeding $100.

 In this court, counsel for the appellant attacked the validity of Circular No.
397 on the ground that if the acts of the Philippine Commission bear the
interpretation of authorizing the Collector to promulgate such a law, they are
void, as constituting an illegal delegation of legislative power.

ISSUE:

Whether the authority conferred to the Collector to promulgate said Circular

constitutes an invalid delegation of legislative power

RULING:
Yes. A law authorizing the Collector to impose penalties for violations of his rules is
invalid, as vesting in him upon a power exclusively lodged in Congress.

APPLICATION:
The Collector cannot exercise a power exclusively lodged in Congress. Hence,
Barrias should be penalized in accordance to the penalty being imposed by Act No.
1136. One of the settled maxims in constitutional law is that the power conferred
upon the legislature to make laws cannot be delegated by that department to any
other body or authority. Where the sovereign power of the state has located the
authority, there it must remain; and by that constitutional agency alone the laws
must be made until the Constitution itself is changed. The power to whose
judgment, wisdom, and patriotism this high prerogative has been entrusted cannot
relieve itself of the responsibility by choosing other agencies upon which the power
shall be devolved, nor can it substitute the judgment, wisdom, and patriotism of any
other body for those to which alone the people have seen fit confide this sovereign
trust. This doctrine is based on the ethical principle that such a delegated power
constitutes not only a right but a duty to be performed by the delegate by the
instrumentality of his own judgment acting immediately upon the matter of
legislation and not through the intervening mind of another.

CONCLUSION:
Judgement of the Court of first instance as convicts the defendant of violation of
Acts Nos. 355 and 1235 is hereby revoked and is hereby convicted of a
misdemeanor and punished by a fine of 25 dollars, with costs of both instances.