DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, CULTURE AND of governmental power.

Similarly, the establishment of

SPORTS (DECS) and DIRECTOR OF CENTER FOR minimum medical educational requirements-i.e., the
EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT, petitioners, completion of prescribed courses in a recognized medical
vs. school-for admission to the medical profession, has also been
ROBERTO REY C. SAN DIEGO and JUDGE TERESITA sustained as a legitimate exercise of the regulatory authority of
DIZON-CAPULONG, in her capacity as Presiding Judge the state. What we have before us in the instant case is closely
of the Regional Trial Court of Valenzuela, Metro Manila,
related: the regulation of access to medical schools. MECS
Branch 172, respondents.
Order No. 52, s. 1985, as noted earlier, articulates the rationale
of regulation of this type: the improvement of the professional
RAMON M. GUEVARA for private respondent.
and technical quality of the graduates of medical schools, by
upgrading the quality of those admitted to the student body of
FACTS: the medical schools. That upgrading is sought by selectivity in
The private respondent is a graduate of the University of the the process of admission, selectivity consisting, among other
East with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Zoology. The things, of limiting admission to those who exhibit in the
petitioner claims that he took the NMAT three times and required degree the aptitude for medical studies and eventually
flunked it as many times.1 When he applied to take it again, for medical practice. The need to maintain, and the difficulties
the petitioner rejected his application on the basis of the of maintaining, high standards in our professional schools in
aforesaid rule. general, and medical schools in particular, in the current state
of our social and economic development, are widely known.
A student shall be allowed only three (3)
chances to take the NMAT. After three (3) We believe that the government is entitled to prescribe an
successive failures, a student shall not be admission test like the NMAT as a means of achieving its
allowed to take the NMAT for the fourth time. stated objective of "upgrading the selection of applicants into
[our] medical schools" and of "improv[ing] the quality of
He then went to the Regional Trial Court of Valenzuela, Metro medical education in the country." Given the widespread use
Manila, to compel his admission to the test. today of such admission tests in, for instance, medical schools
in the United States of America (the Medical College
In his original petition for mandamus, he first invoked his
Admission Test [MCAT] and quite probably, in other
constitutional rights to academic freedom and quality
countries with far more developed educational resources than
education. By agreement of the parties, the private respondent
our own, and taking into account the failure or inability of the
was allowed to take the NMAT scheduled subject to the
petitioners to even attempt to prove otherwise, we are entitled
outcome of his petition. 2 In an amended petition filed with
to hold that the NMAT is reasonably related to the securing of
leave of court, he squarely challenged the constitutionality of
the ultimate end of legislation and regulation in this area. That
MECS Order No. 12, Series of 1972, containing the above-
end, it is useful to recall, is the protection of the public
cited rule. The additional grounds raised were due process and
from the potentially deadly effects of incompetence and
equal protection.
ignorance in those who would undertake to treat our
After hearing, the respondent judge rendered a decision bodies and minds for disease or trauma.
declaring the challenged order invalid and granting the
The issue raised in both cases is the academic preparation of
petition. Also, respondent judge held that the respondent had
the applicant. This may be gauged at least initially by the
been deprived of his right to pursue a medical education
admission test and, indeed with more reliability, by the three-
through an arbitrary exercise of the police power. 
flunk rule. The latter cannot be regarded any less valid than
ISSUES: the former in the regulation of the medical profession.

Main issue: There is no need to redefine here the police power of the State.
Suffice it to repeat that the power is validly exercised if (a)
Whether or not the admission rule of the petitioner is an
the interests of the public generally, as distinguished from
arbitrary exercise of police power
those of a particular class, require the interference of the
Sub Issues: State, and (b) the means employed are reasonably
necessary to the attainment of the object sought to be
Whether or not MECS order 12 Series of 1972 is accomplished and not unduly oppressive upon individuals.5
constitutional
In other words, the proper exercise of the police power
Whether or not the respondent has been deprived of his right requires the concurrence of a lawful subject and a lawful
to quality education and equal protection of the laws. method.
RULING:
The subject of the challenged regulation is certainly within
POLICE POWER & CONSTITUTIONALITY OF MECS the ambit of the police power. It is the right and indeed the
ORDER responsibility of the State to insure that the medical
profession is not infiltrated by incompetents to whom
1. NO. In Tablarin v. Gutierrez, 4 this Court upheld the patients may unwarily entrust their lives and health.
constitutionality of the NMAT as a measure intended
to limit the admission to medical schools only to The method employed by the challenged regulation is not
those who have initially proved their competence and irrelevant to the purpose of the law nor is it arbitrary or
preparation for a medical education. oppressive. The three-flunk rule is intended to insulate the
medical schools and ultimately the medical profession from
This question is perhaps most usefully approached by recalling the intrusion of those not qualified to be doctors.
that the regulation of the practice of medicine in all its
branches has long been recognized as a reasonable method of While every person is entitled to aspire to be a doctor, he does
protecting the health and safety of the public. That the power not have a constitutional right to be a doctor. This is true of
to regulate and control the practice of medicine includes the any other calling in which the public interest is involved; and
power to regulate admission to the ranks of those authorized to the closer the link, the longer the bridge to one's ambition. The
practice medicine, is also well recognized. Thus, legislation State has the responsibility to harness its human resources and
and administrative regulations requiring those who wish to to see to it that they are not dissipated or, no less worse, not
practice medicine first to take and pass medical board used at all. These resources must be applied in a manner that
will best promote the common good while also giving the
examinations have long ago been recognized as valid exercises
individual a sense of satisfaction.
RIGHT TO QUALITY EDUCATION SECTION 1. Executive Order No. 626 is hereby
amended such that henceforth, no carabao regardless
While every person is entitled to aspire to be a doctor, he does of age, sex, physical condition or purpose and no
not have a constitutional right to be a doctor. This is true of carabeef shall be transported from one province to
any other calling in which the public interest is involved; and another. The carabao or carabeef transported in
the closer the link, the longer the bridge to one's ambition. The violation of this Executive Order as amended shall be
State has the responsibility to harness its human resources and subject to confiscation and forfeiture by the
to see to it that they are not dissipated or, no less worse, not government, to be distributed to charitable institutions
used at all. These resources must be applied in a manner that and other similar institutions as the Chairman of the
will best promote the common good while also giving the National Meat Inspection Commission may ay see fit,
individual a sense of satisfaction.
in the case of carabeef, and to deserving farmers
through dispersal as the Director of Animal Industry
A person cannot insist on being a physician if he will be a may see fit, in the case of carabaos.
menace to his patients. If one who wants to be a lawyer may
prove better as a plumber, he should be so advised and The petitioner sued for recovery claiming that EO 626-A
adviced. Of course, he may not be forced to be a plumber, but is unconstitutional, and the RTC of Iloilo City issued a
on the other hand he may not force his entry into the bar. By writ of replevin upon his filing of a supersedeas bond of
the same token, a student who has demonstrated promise as a
P12,000.00. After considering the merits of the case, the
pianist cannot be shunted aside to take a course in nursing,
court sustained the confiscation of the carabaos and, since
however appropriate this career may be for others.
they could no longer be produced, ordered the
confiscation of the bond. The court also declined to rule
The right to quality education invoked by the private
on the constitutionality of the executive order, as raise by
respondent is not absolute. The Constitution also provides
that "every citizen has the right to choose a profession or the petitioner, for lack of authority and also for its
course of study, subject to fair, reasonable and equitable presumed validity. 
admission and academic requirements.6
The petitioner appealed the decision to the Intermediate
Appellate Court   which upheld the trial court, and he has
The private respondent must yield to the challenged rule and now come before us in this petition for review
give way to those better prepared. Where even those who have
on certiorari.
qualified may still not be accommodated in our already
crowded medical schools, there is all the more reason to bar The thrust of his petition is that the executive order is
those who, like him, have been tested and found wanting. unconstitutional insofar as it authorizes outright
confiscation of the carabao or carabeef being transported
The Court feels that it is not enough to simply invoke the right across provincial boundaries. His claim is that the penalty
to quality education as a guarantee of the Constitution: one is invalid because it is imposed without according the
must show that he is entitled to it because of his preparation owner a right to be heard before a competent and impartial
and promise. The private respondent has failed the NMAT five
court as guaranteed by due process. He complains that the
times. 7 While his persistence is noteworthy, to say the least, it
is certainly misplaced, like a hopeless love. measure should not have been presumed, and so sustained,
as constitutional. There is also a challenge to the improper
exercise of the legislative power by the former President
EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE.
under Amendment No. 6 of the 1973 Constitution.
The contention that the challenged rule violates the equal
ISSUE:
protection clause is not well-taken. A law does not have to
operate with equal force on all persons or things to be WON there is a valid exercise of police power.
conformable to Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution.
Whether E.O. No. 626-A is unconstitutional insofar as it
There can be no question that a substantial distinction exists authorizes the outright confiscation of carabao and carabeef
between medical students and other students who are not being transported across provincial boundaries, thus denying
subjected to the NMAT and the three-flunk rule. The medical due process.
profession directly affects the very lives of the people, unlike
other careers which, for this reason, do not require more
RULING:
vigilant regulation.
POLICE POWER
There would be unequal protection if some applicants who
have passed the tests are admitted and others who have NO. The challenged measure is an invalid exercise of
also qualified are denied entrance. In other words, what Police power because the method employed to conserve the
the equal protection requires is equality among equals. carabaos is not reasonably necessary to the purpose of the
law and, worse, is unduly oppressive. To justify the State
in the imposition of its authority in behalf of the public, it
must be:

1) The interest of the public generally, as distinguished

RESTITUTO YNOT, petitioner,
from those of a particular class, require such interference;
vs.
2) that the means employed are reasonably necessary for
INTERMEDIATE APPELLATE COURT
the accomplishment of the purpose, and not unduly
FACTS: oppressive upon individuals.

The petitioner had transported six carabaos in a pump boat From what has been said, we think it is clear that the
from Masbate to Iloilo. Upon arrival in Iloilo, the police enactment of the provisions of the statute under consideration
station commander confiscated the carabaos for violation of was required by "the interests of the public generally, as
EO No. 626-A (amending EO626 – an order prohibiting the distinguished from those of a particular class" and that the
slaughtering of carabaos and buffalos for the protection of prohibition of the slaughter of carabaos for human
small farmers). Said EO 626-A prohibited interprovincial consumption, so long as these animals are fit for agricultural
movement of carabaos and carabeefs while giving discretion work or draft purposes was a "reasonably necessary"
to government officers to decide regarding the confiscated limitation on private ownership, to protect the community
carabaos and carabeefs. from the loss of the services of such animals by their slaughter
by improvident owners, tempted either by greed of momentary against the doctrine of separation of powers. There is,
gain, or by a desire to enjoy the luxury of animal food, even finally, also an invalid delegation of legislative powers to
when by so doing the productive power of the community may the officers mentioned therein who are granted unlimited
be measurably and dangerously affected. discretion in the distribution of the properties arbitrarily
taken. For these reasons, we hereby declare Executive
Though police power was invoked by the government in this Order No. 626-A unconstitutional.
case for the reason that the present condition demand that the
carabaos and the buffaloes be conserved for the benefit of the The strength of democracy lies not in the rights it guarantees
small farmers who rely on them for energy needs, it does not but in the courage of the people to invoke them whenever they
however, comply with the second requisite for a valid exercise are ignored or violated. Rights are but weapons on the wall if,
of the said power which is, "that there be a lawful like expensive tapestry, all they do is embellish and impress.
method." The reasonable connection between the means Rights, as weapons, must be a promise of protection. They
employed and the purpose sought to be achieved by the become truly meaningful, and fulfill the role assigned to them
questioned measure is missing.  in the free society, if they are kept bright and sharp with use
by those who are not afraid to assert them.
We do not see how the prohibition of the inter-provincial
transport of carabaos can prevent their indiscriminate CITY GOVERNMENT OF QUEZON CITY and CITY
slaughter, considering that they can be killed anywhere, with COUNCIL OF QUEZON CITY, petitioners,
no less difficulty in one province than in another. Obviously, vs.
retaining the carabaos in one province will not prevent their HON. JUDGE VICENTE G. ERICTA
slaughter there, any more than moving them to another
province will make it easier to kill them there. As for the FACTS:
carabeef, the prohibition is made to apply to it as otherwise, so
says executive order, it could be easily circumvented by Quezon City council enacted an ordinance
simply killing the animal. Perhaps so. However, if the entitled "Ordinance Regulating the Establishment,
movement of the live animals for the purpose of preventing Maintenance and Operation of Private Memorial Type
their slaughter cannot be prohibited, it should follow that there Cemetery or Burial Ground within the Jurisdiction of Quezon
is no reason either to prohibit their transfer as, not to be City and Providing Penalties for the Violation thereof".
flippant dead meat. Section 9 of the ordinance provides that: "At least six (6)
percent of the total area of the memorial park cemetery shall
Even if a reasonable relation between the means and the end be set aside for charity burial of deceased persons who are
were to be assumed, we would still have to reckon with the paupers and have been residents of Quezon City for at least 5
sanction that the measure applies for violation of the years prior to their death, to be determined by competent City
prohibition. The penalty is outright confiscation of the carabao Authorities.”
or carabeef being transported, to be meted out by the executive
authorities, usually the police only. In the Toribio Case, the
statute was sustained because the penalty prescribed was fine For seven years, the ordinance has not been enforced until the
and imprisonment, to be imposed by the court after trial and Quezon City Council passed a resolution requesting the City
conviction of the accused. Under the challenged measure, Engineer of Quezon City to stop any further selling and/or
significantly, no such trial is prescribed, and the property transaction of memorial park lots in QC where the owners
being transported is immediately impounded by the police and thereof failed to donate the required 6% for pauper burial.
declared, by the measure itself, as forfeited to the government.
Pursuant to such resolution, the City Engineer notified
DUE PROCESS Himlayang Pilipino Inc. in writing that Sec. 9 of Ordinance
6118 would be enforced. 
YES. In the instant case, the carabaos were arbitrarily Himlayang Pilipino filed with the CFI-QC a petition for
confiscated by the police station commander, were returned to declaratory relief, prohibition and mandamus with preliminary
the petitioner only after he had filed a complaint for recovery injunction seeking to annul Section 9 of the ordinance for
and given a supersedeas bond of P12,000.00, which was being contrary to the Constitution, the QC Charter, Local
ordered confiscated upon his failure to produce the carabaos Autonomy Act and Revised Administrative Code. 
when ordered by the trial court. The executive order defined
the prohibition, convicted the petitioner and immediately
The lower court declared said provision null and void, thus the
imposed punishment, which was carried out forthright. The
City Council of QC filed the petition for review before the SC.
measure struck at once and pounced upon the petitioner
without giving him a chance to be heard, thus denying him the
The QC Council argued that the taking of the respondent's
centuries-old guaranty of elementary fair play.
property is a valid and reasonable exercise of police power and
that the land is taken for a public use as it is intended for the
It has already been remarked that there are occasions when burial ground of paupers. They further argue that the QC
notice and hearing may be validly dispensed with Council is authorized under its charter, in the exercise of local
notwithstanding the usual requirement for these minimum police power, "to make such further ordinances and
guarantees of due process. It is also conceded that summary resolutions not repugnant to law as may be necessary to carry
action may be validly taken in administrative proceedings as into effect and discharge the powers and duties conferred by
procedural due process is not necessarily judicial only. 20 In this Act and such as it shall deem necessary and proper to
the exceptional cases accepted, however. there is a provide for the health and safety, promote the prosperity,
justification for the omission of the right to a previous hearing, improve the morals, peace, good order, comfort and
to wit, the immediacy of the problem sought to be corrected convenience of the city and the inhabitants thereof, and for the
and the urgency of the need to correct it. protection of property therein." 

To sum up then, we find that the challenged measure is an On the other hand, Himlayang Pilipino, Inc. contends that the
invalid exercise of the police power because the method taking or confiscation of property is obvious because the
employed to conserve the carabaos is not reasonably questioned ordinance permanently restricts the use of the
necessary to the purpose of the law and, worse, is unduly property such that it cannot be used for any reasonable
oppressive. Due process is violated because the owner of purpose and deprives the owner of all beneficial use of his
the property confiscated is denied the right to be heard in property.
his defense and is immediately condemned and punished.
The conferment on the administrative authorities of the The respondent also stresses that the general welfare clause is
power to adjudge the guilt of the supposed offender is a not available as a source of power for the taking of the
clear encroachment on judicial functions and militates property in this case because it refers to "the power of
promoting the public welfare by restraining and regulating the power embraces the whole system of public regulation. The
use of liberty and property." The respondent points out that if Supreme Court has said that police power is so far-reaching in
an owner is deprived of his property outright under the State's scope that it has almost become impossible to limit its sweep.
police power, the property is generally not taken for public use As it derives its existence from the very existence of the state
but is urgently and summarily destroyed in order to promote itself, it does not need to be expressed or defined in its scope.
the general welfare.  Being coextensive with self-preservation and survival itself, it
is the most positive and active of all governmental processes,
ISSUES: the most essential insistent and illimitable especially it is so
under the modern democratic framework where the demands
1. WON QC council haS the authority to issue create of society and nations have multiplied to almost unimaginable
the provision in question. proportions. The field and scope of police power have become
almost boundless, just as the fields of public interest and
2. WON the ordinance is a valid exercise of police public welfare have become almost all embracing and have
power. transcended human foresight. Since the Courts cannot foresee
the needs and demands of public interest and welfare, they
RULING: cannot delimit beforehand the extent or scope of the police
power by which and through which the state seeks to attain or
1. NO. An examination of the Charter of Quezon City achieve public interest and welfare. (Ichong vs. Hernandez, L-
(Rep. Act No. 537), does not reveal any provision 7995, May 31, 1957).
that would justify the ordinance in question except
the provision granting police power to the City. It will be seen from the foregoing authorities that police power
Section 9 cannot be justified under the power granted is usually exercised in the form of mere regulation or
to Quezon City to tax, fix the license fee, restriction in the use of liberty or property for the promotion of
and regulate such other business, trades, and the general welfare. It does not involve the taking or
occupation as may be established or practised in the confiscation of property with the exception of a few cases
City. where there is a necessity to confiscate private property in
order to destroy it for the purpose of protecting the peace and
order and of promoting the general welfare as for instance, the
The power to regulate does not include the power to prohibit. confiscation of an illegally possessed article, such as opium
A fortiori, the power to regulate does not include the power to and firearms.
confiscate. The ordinance in question not only confiscates but
also prohibits the operation of a memorial park cemetery, It seems to the court that Section 9 of Ordinance No. 6118,
because under Section 13 of said ordinance, 'Violation of the Series of 1964 of Quezon City is not a mere police
provision thereof is punishable with a fine and/or regulation but an outright confiscation. It deprives a
imprisonment and that upon conviction thereof the permit to person of his private property without due process of law,
operate and maintain a private cemetery shall be revoked or nay, even without compensation.
cancelled.' The confiscatory clause and the penal provision in
effect deter one from operating a memorial park cemetery. There is no reasonable relation between the setting aside of
Neither can the ordinance in question be justified under sub- at least six (6) percent of the total area of an private
section "t", Section 12 of Republic Act 537 which authorizes cemeteries for charity burial grounds of deceased paupers
the City Council to- and the promotion of health, morals, good order, safety, or
the general welfare of the people. The ordinance is actually
'prohibit the burial of the dead within the center of a taking without compensation of a certain area from a
population of the city and provide for their burial in such private cemetery to benefit paupers who are charges of the
proper place and in such manner as the council may municipal corporation. Instead of building or maintaining
determine, subject to the provisions of the general law a public cemetery for this purpose, the city passes the
regulating burial grounds and cemeteries and governing burden to private cemeteries. (City Government Of Quezon
funerals and disposal of the dead.' (Sub-sec. (t), Sec. 12, City Ericta, G.R. No. L-34915, June 24, 1983)
Rep. Act No. 537).
BRUNO S. CABRERA, petitioner, vs. HON. COURT OF
There is nothing in the above provision which authorizes APPEALS AND THE PROVINCE OF CATANDUANES
confiscation or as euphemistically termed by the respondents,
'donation'
 The Provincial Board of Catanduanes adopted Resolution No.
158 (Closing the old road leading to the new Capitol Building
2. NO. The police power of Quezon City is defined in sub- and giving owners of properties traversed by the new road an
section 00, Sec. 12, Rep. Act 537 which reads as follows: area from the old road). Pursuant thereto, Deeds of Exchange
were executed under which the Province conveyed to
(00) To make such further ordinance and regulations not Remedios R. Bagadiong, Fredeswindo F. Alcala, Elena S.
repugnant to law as may be necessary to carry into effect Latorre, Baldomero Tolentino, Eulogia T.Alejandro, Angeles
and discharge the powers and duties conferred by this act S. Vargas, and Juan S. Reyes portions of the closed road in
and such as it shall deem necessary and proper to exchange for their own respective properties, on which was
provide for the health and safety, promote, the subsequently laid a new concrete road leading to the Capitol
prosperity, improve the morals, peace, good order, Building.
comfort and convenience of the city and the inhabitants
thereof, and for the protection of property therein; and Learning about Resolution 158, the petitioner filed a
enforce obedience thereto with such lawful fines or complaint with the CFI of Catanduanes for "Restoration
penalties as the City Council may prescribe under the of Public Road and/or Abatement of Nuisance, Annulment of
provisions of subsection (jj) of this section. Resolutions and Documents with Damages." He alleged that
the land fronting his house was a public road owned by the
Police power is defined by Freund as 'the power of promoting Province in its governmental capacity and therefore beyond
the public welfare by restraining and regulating the use of the commerce of man. He contended that Resolution No. 158
liberty and property'. It is usually exerted in order to merely and the deeds of exchange were invalid, as so too was the
regulate the use and enjoyment of property of the owner. If he closure of the road. 
is deprived of his property outright, it is not taken for public
use but rather to destroy in order to promote the general The judge sustained the authority of the provincial board
welfare. In police power, the owner does not recover from the to enact said Resolution. The CA affirmed and found that the
government for injury sustained in consequence thereof. It has road was not a public road  but a mere "passageway" or "short-
been said that police power is the most essential of cut,". Also, pursuant to RA 5185, municipal authorities,
government powers, at times the most insistent, and always subject to the approval of the Provincial Board, can close
one of the least limitable of the powers of government. This
thoroughfares pursuant to Sec 2246 of the Revised well within the ambit of the power to close a city street. The city
Administrative Code. Petitioner insists that Sec. 2246 is not council, it would seem to us, is the authority competent to determine
applicable because Resolution No. 158 is not an order for the whether or not a certain property is still necessary for public use.
closure of the road in question but an authority to barter or
exchange it with private properties. He maintains that the Such power to vacate a street or alley is discretionary. And the
public road was owned by the province in its governmental discretion will not ordinarily be controlled or interfered with by the
capacity and, without a prior order of closure, could not be the courts, absent a plain case of abuse or fraud or collusion. Faithfulness
subject of a barter. Control over public roads, he insists, is to the public trust will be presumed. So, the fact that some private
with Congress and not with the provincial board. interests may be served incidentally will not invalidate the vacation
ordinance.
The petitioner alleges that the closure of the road has
especially injured him and his family as they can no longer use While it is true that the cases dealt with city councils and not
it in going to the national road leading to the old capitol the provincial board, there is no reason for not applying the
building but must instead pass through a small passageway. doctrine announced therein to the provincial board in
For such inconvenience, he is entitled to damages in connection with the closure of provincial roads. The provincial
accordance with law. board has, after all, the duty of maintaining such roads for the
comfort and convenience of the inhabitants of the province.
ISSUE: Moreover, this authority is inferable from the grant by the
national legislature of the funds to the Province for the
construction of provincial roads. 
WON the Provincial Board can validly enact said resolution.
The lower court found the petitioner's allegation of injury and
prejudice to be without basis because he had "easy access
RULING: anyway to the national road, for in fact the vehicles used by
the Court and the parties during the ocular inspection easily
YES. The Court cannot understand how the petitioner can passed and used it, reaching beyond plaintiff's house."
seriously argue that there is no order of closure when it is there However, the CA ruled that the he "was prejudiced by the
in the resolution, in black and white. Resolution 158 clearly closure of the road which formerly fronted his house. He and
says that it is "hereby resolved to close the old road." The his family were undoubtedly inconvenienced by the loss
closure is as plain as day except that the petitioner, with the of access to their place of residence for which we believe they
blindness of those who will not see, refuses to acknowledge it. should be compensated."
The Court has little patience with such puerile arguments.
They border dangerously on a trifling with the administration On this issue, the governing principle was laid down in Favis
of justice and can only prejudice the pleader's cause. thus:
. . . The general rule is that one whose property does not abut on the
closed section of a street has no right to compensation for theclosing
The authority of the provincial board to close that road and use
or vacation of the street, if he still has reasonable access to the general
or convey it for other purposes is derived from the following
system of streets. The circumstances in some casesmay be such as to
provisions of Republic Act No. 5185 in relation to Section
give a right to damages to a property owner, even though his property
2246 of the Revised Administrative Code:
does not abut on the closed section. But towarrant recovery in any
such case the property owner must show that the situation is such that
R.A. No. 5185, Section 11 (II) (a): he has sustained special damagesdiffering in kind, and not merely in
degree, from those sustained by the public generally.
II. The following actions by municipal officials or
municipal councils, as provided for in the pertinent
sections of the Revised Administrative Code shall
take effect without the need of approval or direction
from any official of the national PAGCOR decided to expand its operations to Cagayan de Oro
government: Provided, That such actions shall be City. It leased a portion of a building belonging to Pryce
subject to approval or direction by the Provincial Properties Corporations, Inc., renovated & equipped the same,
Board: and prepared to inaugurate its casino during the Christmas
season.
(a) Authority to close thoroughfare under Section
2246;
Civil organizations angrily denounced the project as shown by
Sec. 2246. Authority to close thoroughfare.  — With massive protests and demonstrations. Petitioners opposed the
the prior authorization of the Department Head, a
casino’s opening and enacted Ordinance No. 3353, prohibiting
municipal council may close any municipal road,
the issuance of business permit and canceling existing
street, alley, park, or square; but no such way or place
aforesaid or any part thereof, shall be closed without business permit to the establishment for the operation of the
indemnifying any person prejudiced thereby. casino, and Ordinance No. 3375-93, prohibiting the operation
of the casino and providing a penalty for its violation.
Property thus withdrawn from public servitude may
be used or conveyed for any purpose for which other
real property belonging to the municipality might be Respondents assailed the validity of the ordinances on the
lawfully used or conveyed. ground that they both violated Presidential Decree No.
1869(PAGCOR is a corporation created directly by P.D. 1869
It sustained the subsequent sale of the land as being in to help centralize and regulate all games of chance, including
accordance not only with the charter but also with Article 422 casinos on land and sea within the territorial jurisdiction of the
of the Civil Code, which provides: "Property of public Philippines).
dominion, when no longer intended for public use or for
public service, shall form part of the patrimonial property of Petitioners contend that, pursuant to the Local Government
the State." Code, they have the police power authority to prohibit the
operation of casino for the general welfare. Finally, the
In the case of Favis vs. City of Baguio, the power of the City petitioners also attack gambling as intrinsically harmful and
Council of Baguio City to close city streets and withdraw them cite various provisions of the Constitution and several
from public use was also assailed. This Court said: decisions of this Court expressive of the general and official
5. So it is, that appellant may not challenge the city council's act of
disapprobation of the vice. They invoke the State policies on
withdrawing a strip of Lapu-Lapu Street at its dead end from public
use and converting the remainder thereof into an alley. These are acts the family and the proper upbringing of the youth
ISSUE: Mayor Lim filed petition in GR No. 115044 but the same was dismissed.
An order to immediately release the permit/license was then
WON Ordinance No. 3353 and Ordinance No. 3375-93 are a passed.
valid exercise of police power.
Executive Secretary Guingona issued a directive to then
chairman of the Games and Amusements Board (GAB),
RULING:
Francisco R. Sumulong, Jr. to hold the grant of the license.
This prompted ADC to file a case for prohibition, mandamus,
NO. NO. We find that the ordinances violate P.D. 1869, which and injunction with prayerfor temporary restraining order and
has the character and force of a statute, as well as the public preliminary injunction, which were granted by the RTCJudge
policy expressed in the decree allowing the playing of certain Reyes.Thus, Guingona and Sumulong filed a petition assailing
games of chance despite the prohibition of gambling in the orders of the judge.The Court analyzed the pertinent laws
general. on the subject:In 1951, Executive Order No. 392 transferred
the authority to regulate jai-alais fromlocal government to the
The rationale of the requirement that the ordinances should not Games and Amusements Board (GAB).In 1953, Republic Act
contravene a statute is obvious. Municipal governments are No. 954 was passed, entitled "
only agents of the national government. Local councils  
exercise only delegated legislative powers conferred on them An Act to Prohibit With HorseRaces and Basque Pelota
by Congress as the national lawmaking body. The delegate Games (Jai-Alai),
cannot be superior to the principal or exercise powers higher …
than those of the latter. It is a heresy to suggest that the local " The law stated that for a person to operatea basque
government units can undo the acts of Congress, from which pelota(jai-alai) game, he must have been granted a legislative
they have derived their power in the first place, and negate by franchise.In 1971, however, the Municipal Board of Manila
mere ordinance the mandate of the statute. passed Ordinance No. 7065entitled "An Ordinance
Authorizing the Mayor To Allow And Permit The
As to petitioners attack on gambling as harmful and immoral, AssociatedDevelopment Corporation To Establish, Maintain
the Court stressed that the morality of gambling is not a And Operate A Jai-Alai In The City OfManila
justiciable issue. Gambling is not illegal per se. While it is …
generally considered inimical to the interests of the people, ."In 1975, Presidential Decree No. 771 was issued entitled
there is nothing in the Constitution categorically proscribing or "Revoking All Powers andAuthority of Local Government(s)
penalizing gambling or, for that matter, even mentioning it at To Grant Franchise, License or Permit And RegulateWagers
all. It is left to Congress to deal with the activity as it sees fit. Or Betting By The Public On
In the exercise of its own discretion, the legislature may …
prohibit gambling altogether or allow it without limitation or it  Jai-Alai Or Basque Pelota,
may prohibit some forms of gambling and allow others for …", and
whatever reasons it may consider sufficient.  Section 3thereof, expressly revoked all existing franchises
and permits issued by local governments.Subsequently,
Thus, it has prohibited jueteng and monte but permits Presidential Decree No. 810, entitled "An Act granting The
lotteries, cockfighting, and horse-racing. In making such PhilippineJai-Alai And Amusement Corporation A Franchise
choices, Congress has consulted its own wisdom, which this To Operate, Construct And MaintainA Fronton For Basque
Court has no authority to review, much less reverse. Well has …" was promulgated.
it been said that courts do not sit to resolve the merits of
conflicting theories. That is the prerogative of the political
departments. It is settled that questions regarding the wisdom,
morality, or practicability of statutes are not addressed to the
judiciary but may be resolved only by the legislative and
executive departments, to which the function belongs in our
scheme of government. That function is exclusive. Whichever
way these branches decide, they are answerable only to their
own conscience and the constituents who will ultimately judge
their acts, and not to the courts of justice.

Casino gambling is authorized by P.D. 1869. This decree

has the status of a statute that cannot be amended or
nullified by a mere ordinance. Hence, it was not competent
for the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Cagayan de Oro City
to enact Ordinance No. 3353 prohibiting the use of
buildings for the operation of a casino and Ordinance No.
3375-93 prohibiting the operation of casinos. For all their
praiseworthy motives, these ordinances are contrary to
P.D. 1869 and the public policy announced therein and are
therefore ultra vires and void.

FACTS:

Judge Pacquing issued an order directing Manila mayor

Alfredo S. Lim to issue a permit/license to operate a jai-
alai in favor of Associated Development Corporation
(ADC). Due to the mayor’s noncompliance, the judge issued
an order directing mayor Lim to explain why he should not be cited
in contempt. Another order was then sent afterwards
reiterating the order to grant license/permit to ADC.