G.R. No. L-44178 August 21, 1987
RICARDO CRUZ, petitioner, vs. HON. COURT OF APPEALS, LOPE S. OCAMPO, ET AL., respondents.

FACTS

Private respondents, vendors and stall holders at Padre Rada Market in Tondo, Manila, filed a class suit against then Manila Mayor Antonio J. Villegas and petitioner Ricardo Cruz. They sought to annul the Mayor’s decision to withdraw Padre Rada Market as a public market under government supervision. Petitioner Cruz, claiming ownership and operation of the market for over 25 years under a 1949 city resolution, notified Mayor Villegas in 1970 of the management’s intent to withdraw three-fourths of the market area from city control, effectively ceasing its operation as a public market. The vendors protested.
Relying on a prior Court of Appeals decision involving Elcano Market, which upheld an operator’s right to withdraw property from use as a public market, Mayor Villegas allowed the withdrawal. The trial court upheld the Mayor’s decision and the validity of the withdrawal notice, dismissing the vendors’ complaint. On appeal, the Court of Appeals reversed the trial court, declaring that Padre Rada Market remains a public market under government supervision and that the vendors be maintained in the premises.

ISSUE

The main issue is whether the City Mayor could validly withdraw Padre Rada Market as a public market.

RULING

The Supreme Court ruled in the negative, affirming the Court of Appeals. The legal logic centers on the proper allocation of governmental authority. The power to convert or withdraw a public market is legislative, not executive. Such an act fundamentally alters the public character and regulatory framework of the market, requiring a formal legislative act from the Municipal Board (or its successor body). Mayor Villegas’s approval, based solely on a prior judicial opinion, exceeded his executive authority.
Critically, the Court found that the Metropolitan Manila Commission, created by Presidential Decree No. 824, had assumed the legislative functions of the Manila Municipal Board. Therefore, any review, amendment, or repeal of ordinances concerning public markets fell under the Commission’s purview, not the Mayor’s. Furthermore, the notice sent by Cruz to the vendors indicated an intent not to cease operations but to run the market free from government control and fee collection, requiring vendors to secure permits directly. This confirmed the market’s continued commercial function, underscoring the necessity of following legal procedures for its conversion or closure. Thus, Padre Rada Market remained a public market subject to government supervision.