Gonzales v. Public Service Commission
REITERATIONFacts
The Antecedents: Petitioner Ramon A. Gonzales seeks to review a decision of the Public Service Commission (PSC) dated September 1, 1971, which made permanent a provisional rate increase for the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT). The PSC determined that the revised rates were just and reasonable, served public interest, and would not result in a rate of return exceeding authorized limits for public utilities. The PSC calculated PLDT's invested capital (rate base) as P537,170,252, with authorized operating expenses of P81,681,749. Based on a 12% rate of return, the computed required revenue was P146,142,179, while actual normalized revenue was P145,771,268, indicating a deficiency revenue of P370,911. Procedural History: During the pendency of this case, PLDT filed another application (BC Case No. 73-011) with the Board of Communications (BOC), the successor to the PSC, for a 40% across-the-board rate increase. On April 27, 1973, the BOC provisionally authorized a 35% increase, subject to refund if found unwarranted upon final determination. This provisional authority was granted due to urgency, citing creditor demands for revised rates to meet debt service requirements for PLDT's expansion program. The BOC's Technical Staff analyzed PLDT's financials and recommended a 38.6% increase for local service rates, or a 35% across-the-board increase, to meet revenue requirements. Atty. Ramon A. Gonzales and Mary Johnston Hospital filed motions to dismiss PLDT's application and set aside the BOC's provisional order, arguing the BOC lacked jurisdiction and that the issues were pending before the Supreme Court. The BOC denied these motions. Subsequently, Mary Johnston Hospital and Atty. Gonzales filed separate petitions for review (G.R. Nos. L-37142 and L-37246, respectively), which were dismissed by the Supreme Court for lack of merit. The Petition: This petition seeks to review the PSC's decision dated September 1, 1971. However, subsequent events, including the BOC's provisional authorization of a 35% rate increase and the dismissal of related petitions before the Supreme Court, have rendered the original petition moot and academic.
Issue(s)
Whether the present petition (G.R. No. L-34143) to review the Public Service Commission's September 1, 1971 decision has become moot and academic due to the provisional authority granted by the Board of Communications in BC Case No. 73-011 and the Supreme Court's dismissal of related petitions challenging that authority.
Ruling
The Supreme Court dismissed the petition, holding that the case has become moot and academic due to subsequent events, specifically the provisional authorization of a 35% rate increase by the Board of Communications and the dismissal of related petitions before the Supreme Court. The Court affirmed the power of the Board of Communications to establish rates and stated that its orders cannot be stayed by the institution of a petition for certiorari or other special remedies unless the Supreme Court directs otherwise.
Ratio Decidendi
On Issue 1: The Supreme Court held that the instant case became moot and academic because its prior dismissals of the petitions in G.R. No. L-37142 and G.R. No. L-37246 effectively affirmed the provisional authority granted to PLDT by the Board of Communications (BOC) in BC Case No. 73-011. This provisional authority allowed PLDT to implement a 35% across-the-board increase on its present authorized rates, based on a determination by the BOC of a significantly larger 1973 rate base (over P900 million) which almost doubled the 1970 rate base (about P537 million) that formed the predicate for the Public Service Commission's (PSC) 1971 decision being reviewed in the present case. Since PLDT was already enforcing and collecting the rates provisionally authorized under the April 27, 1973 order, further consideration of the 1970 rates would be futile and without practical effect. The Court affirmed the power of the Board of Communications, as successor to the defunct Public Service Commission, to amend, modify, or revoke, or establish rates, as provided in Section 16(c) of the Public Service Act, as amended, citing PLDT vs. Medina. Such new rates become immediately operative under Section 33 of the Public Service Act, as amended, provided a new case is filed, which was done with BC Case No. 73-011. The Court also emphasized that orders or decisions of the regulatory body cannot be stayed by petitions for certiorari or other special remedies without a direct order from the Supreme Court, pursuant to Section 37 of the Public Service Act, as amended, and Section 4, Rule 44 of the Revised Rules of Court. Therefore, the vastly different facts and circumstances of the 1973 BC Case No. 73-011 rendered any further consideration of the 1970 BC Case No. 70-3496 moot.
Main Doctrine
A case becomes moot and academic when subsequent events render the issues raised therein no longer tenable or when the relief sought can no longer be granted. The power of the Board of Communications, as successor to the Public Service Commission, to establish rates is affirmed, and its orders cannot be stayed by the institution of a petition for certiorari or other special remedies unless directed by the Supreme Court.