G.R. No. L-6765; May 12, 1954
FULGENCIO VEGA and LEON GELLADA, plaintiffs-appellees, vs. THE MUNICIPAL BOARD OF THE CITY OF ILOILO, ET AL., ETC., defendants-appellants.

FACTS

Plaintiffs Fulgencio Vega and Leon Gellada, owners of motor vehicles, filed an action for declaratory relief to test the validity of Municipal Ordinance No. 35 of the City of Iloilo, enacted on July 13, 1951. The ordinance required all motor vehicles (with specified exceptions) using streets within the city to obtain a certificate from the Traffic Division of the Police Department after inspection for safety, and to pay a corresponding semester fee. Non-compliance was punishable by fine, imprisonment, or both. The plaintiffs contended that the Municipal Board of Iloilo lacked the authority to promulgate such an ordinance. The case was submitted for decision on the pleadings, raising a pure question of law. The Court of First Instance of Iloilo rendered judgment in favor of the plaintiffs, declaring the ordinance invalid. The defendants appealed, arguing that the ordinance was enacted under the police power granted by section 21 of the city’s charter, Commonwealth Act No. 158.

ISSUE

Whether the Municipal Board of the City of Iloilo had the authority under its charter, Commonwealth Act No. 158, to enact Ordinance No. 35, which imposes a mandatory inspection and fee requirement for motor vehicles as a condition for their use within the city.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the lower court, declaring Ordinance No. 35 ultra vires and invalid. The Court held that the Municipal Board of Iloilo lacked the authority to enact the ordinance. The power to regulate motor vehicles and impose fees for their operation is specifically governed by Act No. 3992, as amended by Republic Act No. 587 (The Revised Motor Vehicle Law). Section 70(b) of this Act explicitly states that “no other taxes or fees than those prescribed in this Act shall be imposed for the registration or operation or on the ownership of any motor vehicle… by any municipal corporation, the provisions of any city charter to the contrary notwithstanding.” This limitation applies notwithstanding the general welfare clause in the Iloilo city charter. Furthermore, the power to inspect motor vehicles for safety is vested by Act No. 3992 in the Director of Public Works, not the city police. Applying the principle of strict construction of municipal powers and the rule expressio unius est exclusio alterius (the express mention of one thing excludes others), the Court found that the charter’s specific enumerations of instances where inspection fees could be charged did not include motor vehicles. Therefore, the ordinance was beyond the powers of the Municipal Board.