GR L 23979; (August, 1968) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-23979 August 30, 1968
HOMEOWNERS’ ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES, INC. and VICENTE A. RUFINO, petitioners-appellees, vs. THE MUNICIPAL BOARD OF THE CITY OF MANILA, ET AL., respondents, ANTONIO J. VILLEGAS, Mayor of the City of Manila, respondent-appellant.
FACTS
Petitioners Homeowners’ Association of the Philippines, Inc. and its President Vicente A. Rufino filed an action for declaratory relief against the Municipal Board and the Mayor of Manila to nullify Municipal Ordinance No. 4841, approved on December 31, 1963, to take effect on January 1, 1964. The ordinance, entitled “AN ORDINANCE REGULATING RENTALS OF LOTS AND BUILDING FOR RESIDENTIAL PURPOSES,” declared a state of emergency due to the scarcity of lands and buildings for residential purposes and high cost of living. It prohibited lessors from increasing rentals beyond a specified proportion tied to the increase in assessed value for lots (Section 1) and beyond ten percent per annum of the assessed value for buildings and the land (Section 2). It contained penal provisions for violations (Section 4). The Court of First Instance of Manila declared the ordinance ultra vires, unconstitutional, illegal, and void ab initio. The Mayor of Manila appealed.
ISSUE
Whether Municipal Ordinance No. 4841 is valid.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the lower court, declaring the ordinance illegal and unconstitutional. The Court held that even assuming the City had the power to declare a state of emergency and that such an emergency existed, the ordinance would still be invalid. The Court ruled that police power measures, such as the ordinance, must be reasonable and, when enacted to meet an emergency, must be temporary and limited to a definite and reasonable period co-extensive with the emergency. The ordinance contained no such time limitation, making its effectivity indefinite and permanent, which is unconstitutional. The Court cited precedents, including Rutter v. Esteban, where a moratorium of eight years was deemed unreasonable, and cases involving executive orders issued under emergency powers without time limits, which were declared invalid. The Court also noted that municipal corporations’ delegated powers are subject to the same limitations as the national government. The appellant’s procedural objection regarding the lack of notice to the Solicitor General was deemed waived for not being raised in the lower court.