Manila Jockey Club v Games and Amusement

8/14/2015 G.R.No.L12727http://www.lawphil.net/judjuris/juri1960/feb1960/gr_l12727_1960.html 1/4TodayisFriday,August14,2015RepublicofthePhilippinesSUPREMECOURTManilaENBANCG.R.No.L12727February29,1960MANILAJOCKEYCLUB,INC.,petitionerappellant,vs.GAMESANDAMUSEMENTSBOARD,ETAL.,respondentsappellees.PHILIPPINERACINGCLUB,INC.,petitionerintervenorappellant.Lichauco,PicazoandAgcaoiliforappellant.FirstAssistantGovernmentCorporateCounselSimeonM.GopengcoandAttorneyPedroL.BautistaforappelleePCSO.AssistantSolicitorGeneralJoseP.AlejandroandSolicitorPacificoP.deCastrofortheotherappellees.CesarS.deGuzmanforappellant.BARRERA,J.:This is a petition for declaratory relief filed by petitioner Manila Jockey Club, Inc., in the Court of First InstanceManila(CivilCaseNo.31274),inwhichthePhilippineRacingClub,Inc.,intervenedaspartyininterestwithleaveof court, praying that judgment be rendered against respondents Games and Amusements Board (GAB),PhilippineCharitySweepstakesOffice(PCSO),andExecutiveSecretaryFortunatodeLeon:(a) Interpreting Republic Acts Nos. 309 and 1502 in such a manner that the 30 Sundays unreserved forcharitable institutions and therefore belonging to the private racing clubs under Section 4 of Republic ActNo.309continuetopertaintosaidprivateentities,andthatthe6additionalsweepstakesracesauthorizedunderRepublicActNo.1502shouldbeheldon6ofthe12Saturdaysnotreservedforanyprivateentityorparticular charitable institution under Section 4 of Republic Act No. 309, or on any other day of the weekbesidesSunday,Saturdayandlegalholiday(b)HoldingthatrespondentPCSOdoesnothavetherightorpowertoappropriateorusetheracetracksandequipmentofpetitionerwithoutitsconsent,norcanrespondentscompelpetitionertosoallowsuchuseofitsracetracksandequipmentunderpainofhavingitslicenserevoked.Respondentsdulyfiledtheirrespectiveanswerstosaidpetitionandthecasewasheard.Afterhearing,thecourt,onJuly5,1957,renderedadecisionwhich,inpart,reads:The court does not deem it necessary to rule on the deprivation of property of the petitioner and theintervenor without due process of law, as feared by them, because as they have stated, the PhilippineCharity Sweepstakes Office is using their premises and equipment under separate contracts of leasevoluntarily and willingly entered into by the parties upon payment of a corresponding rental. There isthereforenodeprivationofpropertywithoutdueprocessoflaw.Wherefore, the court is of the opinion and so holds that once a month on a Sunday not reserved for theAntiTuberculosisSociety,theWhiteCrossandothercharitableinstitutionsbySection4ofRepublicActNo.309, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office is authorized to hold one regular sweepstakes draw andraces,pursuanttoSection9ofRepublicActNo.1502,thusreducingthenumberofSundayswhichmaybeallotedtoprivateentitiesbytheGamesandAmusementsBoard....Fromthisjudgment,petitionerandintervenorinterposedthepresentappeal.The issue is the proper placement of the six (6) additional racing days given to the Philippine CharitySweepstakesOffice,invirtueofRepublicActNo.1502,approvedonJune16,1956.TheauthorizedracingdaysspecificallydesignatedanddistributedinSection4ofRepublicActNo.309,thebasiclawonhorseracinginthePhilippines,aslateramendedbyRepublicActNo.983,areasfollows:8/14/2015 G.R.No.L12727http://www.lawphil.net/judjuris/juri1960/feb1960/gr_l12727_1960.html 2/4A.Sundays:(1) For the Philippine AntiTuberculosis Society.................. 12Sundays(2) For the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office(PCSO). 6Sundays(3) For the White Cross, Inc.............................................. 4Sundays(4) For the Grand Derby Race of the Philippine AntiTuberculosisSociety........................................................ 1SundayTotal................................................................ 23Sundays(5) For private individuals and entities duly licensed bytheGAB,otherSundaysnotreservedunderthisAct,asmay be determined by the GAB........................................... 29Sundaysor30forLeapyearsTotalfortheyear.................... 52Sundaysor53forleapyears.B.Saturdays:(1)ForthePhilippineAntiTuberculosisSociety..... 12Saturdays(2)FortheWhiteCross,Inc........................................ 4Saturdays(3) For private Individuals and entities duly licensed byGAB and as may be determined by it.................................. 24Saturdays(4)ForracesauthorizedbythePresidentforcharitable,relief, or civic purposes other than the particularcharitable institutions named above, all other Saturdaysnotreservedforthelatter.................... 12SaturdaysTotal................................................................ 52SaturdaysC.LegalHolidays: All, except Thursday and Friday of the Holy Week, July 4th and December 30th, havebeenreservedforprivateindividualsandentitiesdulylicensedbytheGAB.Asstated,RepublicActNo.1502increasedthesweepstakesdrawandracesofthePCSOtotwelve,butwithoutspecifying the days on which they are to be run. To accommodate these additional races, the GAB resolved toreduce the number of Sundays assigned to private individuals and entities by six. Appellants protested,contending that the said increased should be taken from the 12 Saturdays reserved to the President, forcharitable, relief, or civic purposes, or should be assigned to any other day of the week besides Sunday,Saturday,andlegalholiday.Appellants' contention cannot be sustained. Section 4 Republic Act No. 309, as amended by Republic Act No.983, by express terms, specifically reserved 23 Sundays and 16 Saturdays for the Philippine AntiTuberculosisSociety,theWhiteCross,Inc.andthePCSO,and12SaturdaystothePresidentforothercharitable,relief,orcivicpurposes. These days can not be disposed of by the GAB without authority of law. As to the remaining racingdays,thelawprovides:SEC. 4. Racing days.Private individuals and entities duly licensed by the Commission on Races (nowGAB)mayholdhorseracesonSundaysnotreservedunderthisAct,ontwentyfourSaturdaysasmaybedetermined by the said Commission (GAB), and on legal holidays, except Thursday and Friday of HolyWeek, July fourth, commonly known as Independence Day, and December thirtieth, commonly known asRizalDay.It is clear from the abovequoted provision that appellants have no vested right to the unreserved Sundays, oreven to the 24 Saturdays (except, perhaps, on the holidays), because their holding of races on these days ismerely permissive, subject to the licensing and determination by the GAB. When, therefore, Republic Act No.1502 was enacted increasing by six (6) the sweepstakes draw and races, but without specifying the days forholdingthem,theGABhadnoalternativeexcepttomakeroomfortheadditionalraces,asitdid,formamongtheonly available racing days unreserved by any law the Sundays on which the private individuals and entitieshavebeenpermittedtoholdtheirraces,subjecttolicensinganddeterminationbytheGAB.ItissuggestedthattheGABshouldhavechosenanyweekdaysorSaturdayafternoons.Inthefirstplace,weekdays are out of the question. The law does not authorize the holding of horse races with betting on week days8/14/2015 G.R.No.L12727http://www.lawphil.net/judjuris/juri1960/feb1960/gr_l12727_1960.html 3/4(SeeArticle198oftheRevisedPenalCode).Secondly,sweepstakesraceshavealwaysbeenheldonSundays.Besides,itisnotpossibletoholdthemonSaturdayafternoonsas,itisclaimed,awholedayisnecessaryforthemixing of the sweepstakes balls, the drawing of winning sweepstakes numbers, and the running of thesweepstakes races. Be that as it may, since the law has given certain amount of discretion to the GAB indetermining and allocating racing days not specifically reserved, and since the court does not find that a graveabuse of this discretion has been committed, there seems to be no reason, legal or otherwise, to set aside theresolutionoftheGAB.Furthermore, appellants contend that even granting that the six (6) additional sweepstakes races should be runon Sundays, yet if they are held on a club race day, the GAB should only insert them in the club races and notgiven the whole day to the PCSO, to the exclusion of appellants. In support of this contention, the followingquotationfromthedebateintheHouseofRepresentativesbeforevotingonHouseBillNo.5732,whichbecameRepublicActNo.1502,iscited:Mr.ABELEDA.Iftherearenomoreamendments,Imovethatwevoteonthemeasure.Mr.MARCOS.Mr.Speaker,beforeweproceedtovoteonthisbill,IwanttomakeitofrecordthatitistheclearintentionoftheHousetoincreasebytwothetenregularandspecialSweepstakesracesmakingitallinall,twelve,andthatincaseswhereasweepstakesracefallsinaclubracedaystheSweepstakesracesshouldbeinsertedintheclubrace.Mr. ABELEDA. The gentleman from Ilocos Norte is correct. . . . (t.s.n., Proceedings in House ofRepresentatives,Congress,May17,1956emphasissupplied.)Appellants cite in their briefs a number of authorities sustaining the view that in the interpretation of statutessusceptible of widely differing constructions, legislative debates and explanatory statements by members of thelegislature may be resorted to, to throw light on the meaning of the words used in the statutes. Upon the otherhand, the appellees, likewise, quote in their briefs other authorities to the effect that statements made by theindividual members of the legislature as to the meaning of provisions in the bill subsequently enacted into law,madeduringthegeneraldebateonthebillonthefloorofeachlegislativehouse,followingitspresentationbyastanding committee, are generally held to be in admissable as an aid in construing the statute. Legislativedebatesareexpressiveoftheviewsandmotivesofindividualmembersandarenotsafeguidesand,hence,maynotberesortedtoinascertainingthemeaningandpurposeofthelawmakingbody.Itisimpossibletodeterminewithcertaintywhatconstructionwasputuponanactbythemembersofthelegislativebodythatpassedthebill,byresortingtothespeechesofthemembersthereof.Thosewhodidnotspeak,maynothaveagreedwiththosewhodidandthosewhospoke,mightdifferfromeachother.1In view of these conflicting authorities, no appreciable reliance can safely be placed on any of them. It is to benotedinthespecificcasebeforeus,thatwhileCongressmenMarcosandAbeledawere,admittedly,oftheviewthattheadditionalsweepstakesracesmaybeinsertedintheclubraces,stillthereisnothinginRepublicActNo.1502, as it was finally enacted, which would indicate that such an understanding on the part of these twomembers of the Lower House of Congress were received the sanction or conformity of their colleagues, for thelawisabsolutelydevoidofanysuchindication.Thisis,therefore,notacasewhereadoubtfulwordingissoughttobe interpreted rather, if we adopt appellants' theory, we would be supplying something that does not appear inthestatute.Itispertinenttoobserveherethat,aspointedoutbyoneofappellants'owncitedauthorities,2intheinterpretation of a legal document, especially a statute, unlike in the interpretation of an ordinary writtendocument,itisnotenoughtoobtaininformationtotheintentionormeaningoftheauthororauthors,butalsotoseewhethertheintentionormeaninghasbeenexpressedinsuchawayastogiveitlegaleffectandvalidity.Inshort,thepurposeoftheinquiry,isnotonlytoknowwhattheauthormeantbythelanguageheused,butalsotosee that the language used sufficiently expresses that meaning. The legal act, so to speak, is made up of twoelements an internal and an external one it originates in intention and is perfected by expression. Failure ofthelattermaydefeattheformer.Thefollowing,takenfrom59CorpusJuris1017,isinthelinewiththistheory:Theintentionofthelegislaturetowhicheffectmustbegivenisthatexpressedinthestatuteandthecourtswill not inquire into the motives which influence the legislature, or individual members, in voting for itspassagenorindeedastotheintentionofthedraftsman,orthelegislature,sofarasithasbeenexpressedintheact.So,inascertainingthemeaningofastatutethecourtwillnotbegovernedorinfluencedbytheviewsoropinionsofanyorallmembersofthelegislatureoritslegislativecommitteesoranyotherpersons.Upontheotherhand,atthetimeoftheenactmentofRepublicActNo.1502inJune,1956,thelong,continuous,anduniformpracticewasthatallsweepstakesdrawsandraceswereheldonSundaysandduringthewholeday.With this background, when Congress chose not to specify in express terms how the additional sweepstakesdrawsandraceswouldbeheld,itissafetoconcludethatitdidnotintendtodisturbthethenprevailingsituationandpractice."Ontheprincipleofcontemporaneousexposition,commonusageandpracticeunderthestatute,oracourseof8/14/2015 G.R.No.L12727http://www.lawphil.net/judjuris/juri1960/feb1960/gr_l12727_1960.html 4/4conductindicatingaparticularundertakingofit,willfrequentlybeofgreatvalueindeterminingitsrealmeaning,especiallywheretheusagehasbeenacquiredinbyallpartiesconcernedandhasextendedoveralongperiodoftime...(59C.J.1023).Likewise, the language of Republic Act No. 1502 in authorizing the increase, clearly speaks of regularsweepstakesdrawsandraces.IftheintentionofCongressweretoauthorizeadditionalsweepstakesdrawsonlywhichcould,admittedly,beinsertedintheclubraces,thelawwouldnothaveincludedregularraces and sinceregularsweepstakesraceswerespecificallyauthorized,anditwouldbeconfusing,inconvenient,ifnotimpossibleto mix these sweepstakes races with the regular club races all on the same day (and it has never been donebefore), the conclusion seems inevitable that the additional sweepstakes draws and races were intended to beheldonawholeday,separateandapartfromtheclubraces.Appellants'contentionthattocompelthemtopermitthePCSOtousetheirpremisesandequipmentagainsttheirwillwouldconstitutedeprivationofpropertywithoutdueprocessoflaw,deservesnoseriousconsideration.Asthelower court has found, every time the PCSO uses appellants' premises and equipment, they are paid rentals inaccordancewiththetermsofseparatecontractsofleaseexistingbetweenthemandthePCSO.The decision appealed from, being in consonance with the above findings and considerations of this Court, thesameisherebyaffirmed,withcostsagainsttheappellants.Soordered.Paras,C.J.,Bengzon,Labrador,Concepcion,Reyes,J.B.L.,Endencia,andGutierrezDavid,JJ.,concur.Footnotes1SutherlandonStatutoryConstruction,499501Ramosvs.Alvarez97Phil.,84451Off.Gaz.[II]56087.2VaughanHawkins,inappendixtoThayer'sPreliminaryTreatiseonEvidence.TheLawphilProjectArellanoLawFoundation