Friday, October 03, 2008 'Sticker ordinance illegal': CA By Cong B. Corrales
A LOCAL transport group has scored victory against City Hall when the Appellate Court declared illegal a portion of Cagayan de Oro's tax code imposing fees on public utility vehicles (PUVs) more popularly known as the 'sticker ordinance.'
The Court of Appeals (CA), in a 16-page decision released on September 4, 2008, docketed under CA-G.R. CV 00596-MIN dismissed the appeal of the City Council and the City Mayor of Cagayan de Oro over the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 23 declaration that a particular portion of said ordinance as "null and void and an ultra vires exercise of respondents' (Cagayan de Oro city goverment) power."
The decision penned by CA 21st Division presiding Judge Ma. Anita Esquerra-Lucagbo, nullified the Section 77, sub-paragraph 8 of city ordinance 9521-2005 of then Mayor Vicente Emano and declared illegal.
The petitioners, United Drivers & Associates (Unida), were elated by the landmark decision of the CA.
"Amo kini siyang gi-file tungod kay pabug-at na gyud ni sa mga operators ug drivers," Joel Gabatan, Chairman of Unida, told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro Thursday afternoon.
Gabatan said that this decision will serve as a warning to other local government units (LGUs) to refrain from passing or implementing a similar ordinance.
"This will serve as a precedent that will ultimately benefit the land transportation sector," Gabatan added.
With this, the City Government stands to pay millions as reimbursements to public utility vehicle operators since the CA decision is retroactive. According to Gabatan's estimates, 95 percent of the local PUV operators have already paid the illegal P300 sticker.
"Daghan na pugos og bayad kay dakpon man," Gabatan said.
The case stemmed from Cagayan de Oro City Ordinance 8847-2003, which imposes a Mayor's Permit Fee annually on all PUVs ranging from P200 to P500 per vehicle.
Knowing that said fee is an additional burden to the land transport industry adversely affecting the viability of its operations and its commitment to safe and affordable transport services, on Octover 11, 2004, Unida represented by its Chair Joel Gabatan assisted by lawyer Henry Bacal filed in the RTC here a petition.
After notice and hearings, the RTC issued a temporary retraining order (TRO) against the City Government, "to refrain from doing the acts complained of in the petition, especially in the enforcement of ordinance 8847-2003, section 77 (8) of the City Government."
Finally, on October 3, 2005, the RTC ruled the particular portion of the said ordinance as "null and void." From there, the City Council and City Mayor filed an appeal to the CA (Mindanao Station) based in the city.
City Government's appeal was based on the premise that the Local Government Code takes precedence since it's a newer law.
The CA, in turn, upheld the RTC decision after finding the appeals of the City Government as erroneous, declaring that "if an appeal is essayed to either court by the wrong procedure, the only course of action open is to dismiss the appeal," and therefore "dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, the questions raised being purely legal.
