G.R. No. 45727-45729; June 22, 1938
FLORENCIA A. DE MONDIA, et al., petitioners, vs. THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION and NEGROS TRAVELWAYS CORPORATIONS, respondents.
FACTS
Petitioners, operators of public utility vehicles, filed three consolidated petitions for certiorari against the Public Service Commission (PSC) and Negros Travelways Corporation. They sought: (1) to compel the PSC to hear a complaint against another operator; (2) to set aside two PSC decisions granting Negros Travelways certificates of public convenience; and (3) to suspend PSC proceedings on Negros Travelways’ application to extend its service lines into petitioners’ territories. During the appeal, two petitioners moved for dismissal, claiming the appeals were filed without their knowledge and that they had sold their certificates.
ISSUE
1. Whether a motion for reconsideration is a condition precedent to an appeal by certiorari from a PSC decision.
2. Whether the PSC decisions were void for lack of notice and hearing to affected operators.
3. Whether the PSC abused its discretion in commissioning a justice of the peace to receive evidence on the extension application.
RULING
1. No. Under Commonwealth Act No. 146, a motion for reconsideration is not a prerequisite for an appeal by certiorari from a PSC order, resolution, or decision. The old rule under Act No. 3108 requiring such a motion was abrogated by the omission of the phrase “after the rehearing” in the new law.
2. No. The PSC decisions were not void. The petitioners, as competitors, were not indispensable parties entitled to personal notice of the corporation’s application. The PSC’s publication of the application constituted sufficient notice to the public, including potential opponents. The PSC also had jurisdiction to grant the certificates despite the corporation’s failure to allege Filipino citizenship ownership in its petition, as such fact is not jurisdictional but a matter for opposition or later verification.
3. No. The PSC did not abuse its discretion in commissioning a justice of the peace to receive evidence on the extension application. This was within its general powers under the law. The pendency of the instant appeals did not bar the PSC from proceeding, as the issues involved were distinct.
The petitions for certiorari were denied. The appeals of the two movants (De Mondia and Decimo) were dismissed upon their motions. Costs were imposed against the remaining petitioners.
AI Generated by Armztrong.
