531 Phil. 30
CHICO-NAZARIO, J.:
In the same Order, the RTC denied the parties' motion that the case be submitted on the pleadings since no judgment on the pleadings could be had as there were controverted issues material to the case.[19]
- That petitioner in 1993 was issued a Mayor's Permit No. 276 on January 29, 1993, [as] shown by Annex "B" of the petition;
- [That petitioner paid] for Business and License Permit for the year 1994 in the amount of P9,789.48 under Official Receipt No. 7534455-C;
- [That petitioner procured a] Barangay Clearance.[18]
As can be read the resolution is to object to the approval of a five (5) year management contract for Arrastre and Stevedoring Services in the port of Hilongos, Leyte, applied by the Roble Arrastre, Inc. with the concomitant reason that the Sangguniang Bayan finds it logical and ethical not to grant any permit to any group or corporation in the municipal port of Hilongos who are operators of Shipping Lines flying (sic) the route from Cebu to Hilongos and vice-versa to protect the business interest of the shipping industry of the municipality. This resolution is signed by the Municipal Vice Mayor as Presiding Officer of Sangguniang Bayan and approved by the Mayor. To the mind of the court the approval of the Mayor in a resolution by the Sangguniang Bayan is superfluous. This is not an ordinance that should be signed by the mayor in order to become effective as a law but a resolution of that august body. The above resolution was approved on March 17, 1993 not withstanding (sic) the fact that as shown by the wordings thereat there was already a public hearing conducted by PPA Manila on March 9, 1993 at the Municipal Multi[-] Purpose Center. The Municipal Mayor was present and complaints were entertained by the Hearing Officers from several shippers of Hilongos, Leyte. As appearing also in the lower portion of the said resolution, the same was furnished PPA Manila and the respondent admitted that she did not even know whether a copy had been sent by the Sangguniang Bayan to the concerned offices. Granting that this resolution reached the General Manager, PPA, Manila, she have (sic) not pursued any action on the matter nor the Office of the Mayor and the Sangguniang Bayan received any information of what proper action was taken therein. It is indeed unfortunate that whatever nature of the complaints which was heard during the public hearing by the representative of the PPA, it is not shown whether PPA lend (sic) an ear to it. The fact remains that on March 1, 1994[,] nearly 1 year after this resolution and public hearing, the petitioner, Roble Arrastre, Inc., was given a contract by PPA who has the authority under P.D. 875[20] (sic) to issue the same.Finding for petitioner, the court a quo disposed as follows:
x x x x
x x x The law is clear that under P.D. 875 the sole authority to authorize operation of cargo handling services in all ports of the Philippines whether public or private is lodge (sic) with the Philippine Ports Authority. Under the said law the granting of permits is through the PPA Board carried out by the General Manager or his assistant. This Court has taken noticed (sic) also that no ordinance had been passed by the Sangguniang Bayan and approved by the Municipal Mayor of Hilongos, Leyte, in accordance with the Local Government with regards to the port operation in the port of Hilongos nor there was [a] showing that the Executive Officer of the municipality has anything to say on the power and jurisdiction of the PPA in the port of Hilongos, Leyte. This goes to show that even these public officers knows (sic) the extent of their power as regards the authority of the PPA.
This Court is of the firmed (sic) belief and so holds that the refusal of the Municipal Mayor to approve the application for renewal is not based on law nor upon her discretion. Under the milieu of the case the PPA is authorized and have (sic) the exclusive jurisdiction over all ports of the Philippines and they (sic) alone can issue cargo handling contracts.[21]
PREMISES CONSIDERED, by preponderance of evidence, this Court give (sic) due course to this petition of Mandamus in favor of the Roble Arrastre, Inc. and against the respondent, the Honorable Municipal Mayor of Hilongos sued in her capacity as a Public Officer and orders her forthwith:Respondent mayor filed a Motion for Reconsideration thereon, which was denied for lack of merit by the RTC, in the Order[23] dated 25 October 1995.
a) To approve the application of Roble Arrastre, Inc. for the year 1994 as he has already paid the necessary payments in connection therewith albeit the same permit is now functous officio as this is now 1995. Nevertheless, this approved permit to be issued by the Mayor shall be a basis for renewal of the said 1994 permit for the year 1995 after payment of due fees required by her office.
Without pronouncement as to costs. The counterclaim of respondent is hereby dismissed.[22]
Under Section 444(b)(3)(iv), all local chief executive officer (sic) or municipal mayors are vested with the authority to issue licenses and permits within their jurisdiction. In the same provision, the mayor may likewise suspend or revoke a permit for any violation of the conditions upon which the same had been issued, pursuant to law or ordinance. In effect, under said Section 444(b)(3)(iv), the municipal governments, thru its chief executive, are endowed with the authority to exercise police power.The dispositive portion of the assailed Decision reads:
Evidently, the pursuit of its duty under the (sic) police power necessarily entails exercise of official discretion in order for any local officials to ascertain which will better serve their constituents who elected them into office. Full discretion must necessarily be granted them to perform their functions and it will not be sound logic to simply make them perform purely ministerial functions. And when the discharge of an official duty requires the exercise of official discretion or judgment, it is never a ministerial one (Mateo vs. CA, 196 SCRA 280 [1991]).
Furthermore, where the only power given to a municipal corporation or official is to issue license, as in Section 444 of the Local Government Code, it is clearly regulatory in nature rather than a revenue raising one. Conclusively, regulation being the object of the power to issue license and permits the exercise of discretion by the issuing authority becomes an inescapable prerogative. This could be the very same reason why business permits and licenses are renewed almost annually in order that the licensing officials in carrying out their functions could examine and evaluate availing circumstances and conditions and with the exercise of discretion determine whether to grant or deny the application or, to revoke a license or permit already issued. It should also be understood that a municipal license is not a property such that it is revocable when public interest so requires (Pedro vs. Provincial Board of Rizal, 56 Phil. 126).[25]
IN VIEW OF ALL THE FOREGOING, the appealed decision is hereby REVERSED AND SET ASIDE and a new one entered dismissing Special Civil Action No. [H-]237. No pronouncement as to costs.[26]Petitioner filed a Motion for Reconsideration but the same was denied by the Court of Appeals in its Resolution dated 13 February 1997.
I
Whether or not it was valid for the Court of Appeals to have relied on the cases of Mateo v. Court of Appeals and Pedro v. Provincial Board of Rizal, in ruling that respondent Mayor had full discretion in issuing or renewing the Business Permit even after the petitioner duly complied with all documentary requirements and fully paid the corresponding permit fees.II
Whether or not the Court of Appeals validly interpreted Section 444, (3) (iv), R.A. 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991, as a grant of police power and full discretion to the respondent mayor to refuse the issuance of the permit despite due compliance of all documentary requirements and full payment of the required permit fees by the petitioner.III
Whether or not the Court of Appeals validly rendered its Decision when it refused to apply the precedent in Symaco v. Aquino wherein this Honorable Supreme Court held that even in the absence of any ordinance granting the respondent Mayor such discretion, she cannot refuse issuance of the permit if there is prior compliance by the petitioner with all documentary requirement and full payment of the required permit fees.IV
Whether or not the Court of Appeals validly rendered its Decision when it dismissed the [Petition] allegedly on the ground that it became (sic) moot and academic.[27]
Lastly, it would seem that the main prayer of the complaint, that is, to compel the respondent mayor to issue a business license for the year 1994, by the passage of time during which this case pends, had already become moot and academic. A new application is necessary for the year 1995 and the year 1996 which is about to end. And in the grant or denial of such application for business permits or licenses, the respondent mayor must examine closely the circumstances prevailing and again use her discretion in the exercise of her official function. Accordingly, the issue at hand is already academic and it is well established that courts will not adjudicate moot cases nor hear a case when the object sought is not attainable (State vs. Lambert, 52 W. Va. 248, 43 S. E. 176) and it will decline jurisdiction over moot cases which must involve only actual interests. (In re: Estate of Caballos, 12 Phil. 271; Beech vs. Crossfield, 12 Phil. 555).[28]Indeed, Courts will not determine a moot question in a case in which no practical relief can be granted. It is unnecessary to indulge in academic discussion of a case presenting a moot question as a judgment thereon cannot have any practical legal effect or, in the nature of things, cannot be enforced.[29] However, we are constrained to render judgment herein pursuant to our symbolic function of educating the bench and the bar.[30] For another, this case comes within the rule that courts will decide a question otherwise moot and academic if it is "capable of repetition yet evading review."[31]
SEC. 444. The Chief Executive: Powers, Duties, Functions and Compensation.As Section 444(b)(3)(iv) so states, the power of the municipal mayor to issue licenses is pursuant to Section 16 of the Local Government Code of 1991, which declares:
(b) For efficient, effective and economical governance the purpose of which is the general welfare of the municipality and its inhabitants pursuant to Section 16 of this Code, the Municipal mayor shall:
x x x x
(3) Initiate and maximize the generation of resources and revenues, and apply the same to the implementation of development plans, program objectives and priorities as provided for under Section 18 of this Code, particularly those resources and revenues programmed for agro-industrial development and country-wide growth and progress, and relative thereto, shall:
x x x x
(iv) Issue licenses and permits and suspend or revoke the same for any violation of the conditions upon which said licenses or permits had been issued, pursuant to law or ordinance. (Italics supplied.)
SEC. 16. General Welfare. - Every local government unit shall exercise the powers expressly granted, those necessarily implied therefrom, as well as powers necessary, appropriate, or incidental for its efficient and effective governance, and those which are essential to the promotion of the general welfare. Within their respective territorial jurisdictions, local government units shall ensure and support, among other things, the preservation and enrichment of culture, promote health and safety, enhance the right of the people to a balanced ecology, encourage and support the development of appropriate and self-reliant scientific and technological capabilities, improve public morals, enhance economic prosperity and social justice, promote full employment among their residents, maintain peace and order, and preserve the comfort and convenience of their inhabitants.Section 16, known as the general welfare clause, encapsulates the delegated police power to local governments. Local government units exercise police power through their respective legislative bodies.[33] Evidently, the Local Government Code of 1991 is unequivocal that the municipal mayor has the power to issue licenses and permits and suspend or revoke the same for any violation of the conditions upon which said licenses or permits had been issued, pursuant to law or ordinance. On this matter, petitioner maintains that under the Local Government Code of 1991, a suspension or revocation of permits shall be premised on a finding of violation of the conditions upon which the permits were issued pursuant to a law or ordinance, which is independent of the Code itself. Petitioner asseverates further that there was no law or ordinance that conferred upon the respondent mayor the power to refuse the issuance of the permit despite compliance of petitioner with all documentary requirements and payment of all the fees.
The general welfare clause is the delegation in statutory form of the police power of the State to LGUs. Through this, LGUs may prescribe regulations to protect the lives, health, and property of their constituents and maintain peace and order within their respective territorial jurisdictions. Accordingly, we have upheld enactments providing, for instance, the regulation of gambling, the occupation of rig drivers, the installation and operation of pinball machines, the maintenance and operation of cockpits, the exhumation and transfer of corpses from public burial grounds, and the operation of hotels, motels, and lodging houses as valid exercises by local legislatures of the police power under the general welfare clause.[35]Section 444(b)(3)(iv) of the Local Government Code of 1991, whereby the power of the respondent mayor to issue license and permits is circumscribed, is a manifestation of the delegated police power of a municipal corporation.[36] Necessarily, the exercise thereof cannot be deemed ministerial. As to the question of whether the power is validly exercised, the matter is within the province of a writ of certiorari, but certainly, not of mandamus.
"Discretion," when applied to public functionaries, means a power or right conferred upon them by law or acting officially, under certain circumstances, uncontrolled by the judgment or conscience of others. A purely ministerial act or duty in contradiction to a discretional act is one which an officer or tribunal performs in a given state of facts, in a prescribed manner, in obedience to the mandate of a legal authority, without regard to or the exercise of his own judgment upon the propriety or impropriety of the act done. If the law imposes a duty upon a public officer and gives him the right to decide how or when the duty shall be performed, such duty is discretionary and not ministerial. The duty is ministerial only when the discharge of the same requires neither the exercise of official discretion or judgment.[38]
(iv) Issue licenses and permits and suspend or revoke the same for any violation of the conditions upon which said licenses or permits had been issued, pursuant to law or ordinance.[7] Records, p. 11.
"The police power of a municipal corporation is broad, and has been said to be commensurate with, but not to exceed, the duty to provide for the real needs of the people in their health, safety, comfort, and convenience as consistently as may be with private rights. It extends to all the great public needs, and in a broad sense includes all legislation and almost every function of the municipal government. It covers a wide scope of subjects, and, while it is especially occupied with whatever affects the peace, security, health, morals and the general welfare of the community, it is not limited thereto, but it is broadened to deal with conditions which exist so as to bring out of them the greatest welfare of the people by promoting public convenience or general prosperity, and to everything worthwhile for the preservation of comfort of the inhabitants of the corporation."[37] Heirs of Alberto Suguitan v. City of Mandaluyong, G.R. No. 135087, 14 March 2000, 384 Phil. 676, 691.