Guzman v. Municipality of Taytay
REITERATIONFacts
The Antecedents: Plaintiffs Donato C. Guzman and Minoro Tamashiro, holders of licenses for commercial fishing, challenged Municipal Ordinance No. 1, series of 1933, enacted by the Municipal Council of Taytay, Palawan. This ordinance granted Roman Santos an exclusive privilege of fishery in Malampaya Sound for five years via public auction. Plaintiffs alleged they and other fishermen were deprived of their right to fish in the Sound and were prevented from doing so by Santos. They sought to annul the ordinance and the exclusive license, and to enjoin the defendants from fishing in Malampaya Sound. Procedural History: The Court of First Instance of Palawan upheld the validity of the ordinance and the exclusive license, ordering the plaintiffs to pay P20,000 in damages to Roman Santos and setting aside the preliminary injunction. Plaintiffs appealed this decision. The Petition: Plaintiffs appealed the decision, assigning errors concerning the lower court's declaration of the ordinance and the exclusive fishery privilege as valid, and the award of damages.
Issue(s)
Whether Municipal Ordinance No. 1, series of 1933, of the municipality of Taytay, Province of Palawan, is valid and legal. Whether the exclusive privilege of fishery in Malampaya Sound granted to the defendant Roman Santos under said ordinance is ultra vires and void. Whether the evidence warrants ordering the plaintiffs to pay P20,000 as damages to the defendant Roman Santos.
Ruling
The appealed decision is reversed. Municipal Ordinance No. 1, series of 1933, of the municipality of Taytay, Province of Palawan, and the exclusive privilege of fishery in the Malampaya Sound granted to Roman Santos are declared illegal and void. The plaintiffs are absolved from the counterclaim and cross-complaint, the preliminary injunction is made permanent, and the bond posted by the plaintiffs is cancelled.
Ratio Decidendi
On the legality and validity of Municipal Ordinance No. 1, series of 1933, and the exclusive privilege of fishery granted to Roman Santos: The Court held that while Section 2321 of the Administrative Code previously authorized municipalities to grant exclusive privileges of fishery for profit, this provision was implicitly repealed or amended by the Fisheries Act (Act No. 4003). Section 67 of the Fisheries Act limits the authority of municipal councils to grant exclusive privileges to the erection of fish corrals or the operation of fishponds. The Court further clarified that the term 'fishpond' does not encompass large, navigable bodies of water like Malampaya Sound, which is accessible to ocean vessels. To interpret Malampaya Sound as a fishpond would allow its closure to maritime traffic, which was not the legislative intent. Therefore, the municipality of Taytay exceeded its powers in enacting the ordinance and granting the exclusive privilege, rendering both illegal and void. On the award of damages to Roman Santos: Since the exclusive privilege of fishery granted to Roman Santos was declared illegal and void, any claim for damages arising from the alleged infringement of this privilege must necessarily fail. The plaintiffs cannot be held liable for damages based on a supposed right derived from an ordinance and a privilege that have been found to be ultra vires and without legal effect. Consequently, the third assignment of error, concerning the award of damages, was sustained. On the denial of the motion for a new trial: The Court found this assignment of error to be pro forma, as the plaintiffs admitted it was a corollary to their preceding arguments and did not present independent reasons to support it. Given that the main issues were resolved in favor of the plaintiffs, this assignment was deemed unnecessary to consider further.
Main Doctrine
Municipal councils lack the authority to grant exclusive privileges of fishery in municipal waters under the Fisheries Act, as this power is limited to the construction of fish corrals and operation of fishponds, and the term 'fishpond' does not encompass large navigable bodies of water like Malampaya Sound.