GR L 10470; (June, 1958) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-10470; June 26, 1958
SERAFIN SALDAÑA, plaintiff-appellant, vs. CITY OF ILOILO, defendant-appellee.
FACTS
The City of Iloilo promulgated Ordinance No. 28, series of 1946, as amended by Ordinance No. 30, series of 1946. The ordinance prohibited the sending outside the city of various food supplies and animals (e.g., large cattle, pigs, fish, eggs, fruits) without first obtaining a license permit from the Mayor and imposed fees for such permits. Plaintiff Serafin Saldaña, during the period from September 16 to December 6, 1946, paid under protest the sum of P1,359.80 as fees for sending fish bought in Iloilo City to Manila by plane. On September 17, 1951, Saldaña filed a complaint for reimbursement, contending the ordinances were illegal and ultra vires. The Court of First Instance of Iloilo dismissed the complaint, upholding the ordinances as a valid exercise of police power under the city charter. Saldaña appealed.
ISSUE
Whether Ordinance No. 28, as amended, is a valid exercise of the City of Iloilo’s powers, or is it an ultra vires, illegal, and void ordinance.
RULING
The Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s decision and declared Ordinance No. 28, as amended, null and void.
1. The so-called “license fees” imposed were in reality taxes for city revenue, not mere regulatory fees. The fixed amounts (e.g., P10 per head of large cattle, P5 per pig) bore no reasonable relation to the cost of inspection and permit issuance. If collected in large quantities, the fees would greatly augment city revenues, exceeding the cost of regulation.
2. The ordinance granted the Mayor absolute power to grant or deny permits without providing any regulations or conditions for such issuance, making the prohibition arbitrary and dangerous.
3. A municipal corporation has no inherent power of taxation; it must be expressly authorized by its charter. The charter of the City of Iloilo (Commonwealth Act No. 158) did not authorize the imposition of such fees or taxes on goods taken out of the city.
4. The ordinance contravened Sections 2287 and 2629 of the Revised Administrative Code, which expressly prohibit municipal councils from imposing any tax in any form upon goods and merchandise carried into or out of the municipality.
5. The prohibition against taking the enumerated goods out of the city without a permit was an unlawful restraint of trade and a curtailment of property rights.
The City of Iloilo was ordered to reimburse Saldaña the amount of P1,359.80, with legal interest and costs.