GR L 24472; (July, 1968) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-24472 July 31, 1968
PHILIPPINE RABBIT BUS LINES, INC., petitioner, vs. PROSPERO GABATIN, and PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, respondents.
FACTS
Respondent Prospero Gabatin applied for a certificate of public convenience to operate an auto-truck service on the line Caoayan (Ilocos Sur)-Grace Park (Caloocan City) with six (6) units. Petitioner Philippine Rabbit Bus Lines, Inc. was one of the oppositors. Gabatin and his witnesses, including the Municipal Mayor of Caoayan, testified that there was a need for direct transportation from Caoayan to Manila, as residents (students, employees, merchants, etc.) had to first take calesas or jeeps to Vigan to board petitioner’s buses, which were often fully loaded. A municipal council resolution endorsed the application. The oppositors, led by petitioner, contended there was no need for the proposed service, existing operators on the Vigan-Manila line were sufficient, and that Gabatin was financially incapable. The Public Service Commission, after weighing the evidence, found that no PUB operator provided direct service from Caoayan to Manila, existing buses from the north (including petitioner’s trips starting from Laoag) were often full by the time they reached Vigan, and that public convenience would be served by granting the application for six units. It also found Gabatin a financially capable Filipino citizen.
ISSUE
Whether the Public Service Commission erred in granting the certificate of public convenience to respondent Gabatin.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court sustained the decision of the Public Service Commission. The Court’s jurisdiction to set aside a Commission decision is limited to instances where there is no evidence to reasonably support it, or it is contrary to law or outside its jurisdiction. The Court has consistently held, across a long line of cases, that the findings of fact of the Public Service Commission are conclusive and binding if reasonably supported by evidence. The Court will not reweigh the evidence or substitute its judgment. The record contained evidence (testimonies and a municipal resolution) upon which the Commission could reasonably base its finding of public need. The claim of petitioner’s “prior operator rule” preference was unavailing, as the Commission found the existing service to be inadequate for the specific need of a direct Caoayan-Manila line. The Commission’s findings on Gabatin’s financial capability and the public necessity were thus final and not subject to review.