GR L 4427; (April, 1952) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-4427; April 21, 1952
Ang Tuan Kai and Co., petitioner, vs. The Import Control Commission, respondent.
FACTS
The petitioner, Ang Tuan Kai and Co., a duly registered partnership, filed a petition for certiorari and mandamus against the Import Control Commission. The petitioner alleged that it had placed orders for textiles amounting to about P340,000 with foreign suppliers, which orders were accepted before July 31, 1949. It requested the respondent in November 1950 to allow the importation of these textiles against its 1949 import quotas pursuant to Circular No. 12 of the Import Control Office dated June 7, 1949. This circular required that all quotas for the first six months of 1949 must be covered by orders placed and accepted on or before July 31, 1949, otherwise they would be cancelled. The respondent denied the request and instead resolved to charge the foreign orders against the petitioner’s 1951 quota and exchange allocations.
ISSUE
Whether the petitioner is entitled to a writ of certiorari and mandamus to compel the Import Control Commission to credit its 1949 import quotas for the textiles ordered and to allow their importation.
RULING
The Supreme Court denied the petition. The Court held that the petitioner failed to establish either an abuse of discretion by the respondent or a clear legal right under Circular No. 12. First, the petitioner had a plain and adequate remedy by appeal to the President, making the special civil actions improper. Second, and more importantly, the petitioner utterly failed to prove that its foreign orders for textiles had been accepted before July 31, 1949, as expressly required by Circular No. 12. The petitioner’s letter of November 7, 1950, acknowledged an inability to prove such acceptance, and no proof was offered in the litigation. The Court found that the respondent’s resolution to charge the orders against the 1951 quota did not imply an admission that the orders were accepted before the crucial deadline. Therefore, the petition was denied for lack of merit.