GR 169752; (September 2007) (Digest)
G.R. No. 169752; September 25, 2007
PHILIPPINE SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS, Petitioner, vs. COMMISSION ON AUDIT, ET AL., Respondents.
FACTS
The Philippine Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA) was incorporated in 1905 by virtue of Act No. 1285, a special law enacted by the Philippine Commission. Its charter granted it powers to enforce animal welfare laws, including the authority for its agents to make arrests and the right to one-half of fines collected from violations. These powers were later revoked by Commonwealth Act No. 148 in 1936, which removed the arrest authority and directed all fines to accrue to the general fund of the concerned municipality. In 2003, the Commission on Audit (COA) sought to audit the PSPCA, asserting it was a government entity subject to its jurisdiction. The PSPCA resisted, claiming it was a private, non-stock corporation not covered by COA’s constitutional audit power.
ISSUE
Whether the PSPCA is a government-owned or -controlled corporation (GOCC) with an original charter, thereby subject to the audit jurisdiction of the COA.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court ruled that the PSPCA is not a GOCC with an original charter subject to COA audit. The Court clarified that an “original charter” refers to a corporation created by a special law and not under the Corporation Code. While Act No. 1285 is a special law, it did not create the PSPCA as a government corporation. The law merely recognized and incorporated a pre-existing voluntary association of private citizens, granting it a corporate personality to better pursue its private, non-governmental objectives of preventing animal cruelty. The grant of police powers and a share in fines was merely a delegation of state authority to aid law enforcement, not an indication of state ownership or control. The revocation of these powers by C.A. No. 148 further severed any remaining governmental attributes. The PSPCA’s character, purpose, and history align it with private, non-stock corporations. Since it is not a GOCC, it falls outside the constitutional ambit of “government-owned or controlled corporations with original charters” under Article IX-D, Section 2(1) of the 1987 Constitution. Consequently, the COA has no jurisdiction to conduct a compulsory audit of its accounts.