G.R. No. 48025 ; May 29, 1942
THE CITY OF MANILA, plaintiff-appellant, vs. LA GRANJA, INC., defendant-appellee.

FACTS

The City of Manila sought to recover from La Granja, Inc., the sum of P4,800 as first-class wholesale liquor license fees under section 2531 of the Revised Administrative Code for the years 1933 to 1936. The Court of First Instance found that the defendant’s branch in Manila was a mere bodega or warehouse used as a distributing center. From this Manila center, wines and liquors sold by the defendant in its principal office at Aparri, Cagayan, or in its branches at Cabanatuan and Rosales, were sent out to buyers in various provinces. Based on this finding, the trial court held that the defendant was not liable to pay the license fees demanded by the plaintiff. The City of Manila appealed this decision.

ISSUE

Whether La Granja, Inc. is liable to pay the first-class wholesale liquor license fees to the City of Manila for maintaining a warehouse/distributing center in the city, even if no sales were made there.

RULING

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the trial court. It ruled that La Granja, Inc. is liable to pay the license fees. The Court held that even if the defendant’s Manila establishment was merely a warehouse used as a distributing center, the distribution of merchandise from that location constituted a “disposal” of the liquors within the meaning of section 2531 of the Revised Administrative Code. The law prohibits any person from selling or otherwise disposing of fermented liquors at wholesale without such a license. Furthermore, the Court found it fair and just for the defendant to pay the fees because the City of Manila afforded protection (e.g., against robbery, theft, fire) to the defendant’s goods stored and distributed from the city. The defendant was ordered to pay the City of Manila P4,800 with legal interest from the date of the complaint’s filing, plus costs.