G.R. No. L-7012; March 26, 1913
The Iloilo Ice and Cold Storage Company vs. The Municipal Council of Iloilo, et al.

FACTS

The Iloilo Ice and Cold Storage Company built and operated an ice plant in Iloilo under authority from the Municipal Council. Nearby residents complained that the smoke from the plant’s smokestacks was injurious to health. The Council investigated, found the complaints valid, and passed a resolution ordering the company to elevate its smokestacks within one month, under threat of administrative closure of the plant. The company sued to enjoin the Council from enforcing the resolution, arguing it had no obligation to comply and that the Council threatened to close the plant administratively without court intervention. The Council’s answer alleged the plant was in a populated area, its smoke caused annoyance and health prejudice, and it violated license conditions. The trial court sustained the company’s demurrer to the answer, ruling it insufficient. The Council appealed.

ISSUE

Whether a municipal council, under its power to “declare and abate nuisances,” can extrajudicially determine that a lawful business (not a nuisance per se) is a nuisance and order its closure through administrative action without a judicial hearing.

RULING

No. The order of the trial court is reversed and the case is remanded for trial. A municipal council’s power to declare and abate nuisances under the Municipal Code does not include the unrestrained power to declare anything a nuisance. An ice plant is not a nuisance per se; it is a legitimate industry. Whether it constitutes a nuisance in fact due to its operation is a question of fact that must be determined by a judicial tribunal in a fair and impartial hearing. The council cannot authorize the extrajudicial condemnation and destruction of something that is not a nuisance per se. The injunction, if made permanent, should be limited to prohibiting the closing of the factory by arbitrary administrative action. The company is entitled to a judicial determination on whether its plant is a nuisance. The implied police power of the state may still require the company to modify its plant if reasonably necessary for public welfare, notwithstanding any prior license.