Plaintiff-Appellee vs. vs. Defendant-Appellant Solicitor General Antonio T Uy

EN BANC
[G.R. No. L-15346. June 29, 1962.]
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES , plaintiff-appellee, vs. ROGELIO

FELISARTA , defendant-appellant.
Solicitor General for plaintiff-appellee.

Antonio T . Uy for defendant-appellant.
SYLLABUS
1. MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS; POWER TO REGULATE OCCUPATIONS AND

ENTERPRISES; IMPOSITION BY CEBU CITY OF P1.00 PER YEAR ON EVERY RIG DRIVER
VALID. — Under the general grant of police power to municipal corporations in section
2238 of the Administrative Code and under its charter, the City of Cebu has the power
to regulate the occupation of rig drivers, involving as it does not only the use of
municipal property but also such matters of public interest as sanitation and safety,
good order, comfort, convenience and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants. In
the exercise of this power it may impose a license fee of P1.00 per year on every rig
driver to defray the necessary expenses of registration and police regulation.
2. ID.; ID.; THREE CLASSES OF MUNICIPAL LICENSES. — Three classes of
municipal licenses are generally recognized: rst, licenses for the regulation of useful
occupations and enterprises; second, licenses for the regulation or restriction of non-
useful occupations and enterprises; third, licenses for revenue only. The rst two
classes are based on the police power of the municipality, which carries with it the right
to x license fees. The amount of license fees for the rst class is only that which may
be su cient to cover the expense of issuing the license and the cost of necessary
inspection or police surveillance of the business. The license fees for the second class
may be much higher, as in the case of licenses for the sale of liquor. The fee for the
third class is not a license fee, strictly speaking. It rests upon the taxing power and
must be expressly granted by charter or statute. Cu Unjieng vs. Patstone, 42 Phil. 818;
Pacific Commercial Co. vs. Romualdez, 49 Phil. 917.
DECISION
MAKALINTAL , J : p
For driving a rig without a driver's license on the streets of the city of Cebu
Rogelio Felisarta was apprehended by a police o cer and subsequently charged in the
Municipal Court with violation of City Ordinance No. 65, Section 42, series of 1948.
Convicted of the charge and sentenced to pay a ne of P5.00, with subsidiary
imprisonment in case of insolvency, Felisarta appealed to the Court of First Instance of
Cebu, which sustained the judgment of conviction and increased the ne to P15.00. The
case is now before us on the legal question, raised by appellant, concerning the validity
of the provision of the ordinance found violated.
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Section 49 requires a rig driver to pay a driver's license fee of P1.00 for one year;
Section 42 prohibits any person from "operating" a rig without such license; and section
50 imposes a ne of not less than ve pesos nor more than thirty pesos, or a penalty of
imprisonment for not less than ve days nor more than thirty days, for violation of the
requirement.
Appellant's position is: (1) that the charter of the City of Cebu, Commonwealth
Act No. 58, particularly section 17 thereof which de nes the general powers and duties
of the Municipal Board, or sub-section (1) which enumerates the trades, businesses,
occupations and establishments subject to regulation and licensing, does not mention
the occupation of rig driver among them; and (2) that the validity of the license fee in
question can not be sustained under the general welfare clause, section 2238 of the
Revised Administrative Code.
Appellant's rst proposition may be conceded: rig drivers are not included in the
enumeration of occupations subject to licensing in section 17 of Commonwealth Act
No. 58, except possibly by rather remote inference from the term "public vehicles" in
subsection (1). However, aside from the general grant of police power to municipal
corporations in section 2238 of the Administrative Code the charter of the City of Cebu
also authorizes its municipal board:
"To enact all ordinances it may deem necessary and proper for the
sanitation and safety, the furtherance of the prosperity, and the promotion of the
morality, peace, good order, comfort, convenience, and general welfare of the city
and its inhabitants, and such others as may be necessary to carry into effect and
discharge the powers and duties conferred by this Act; and to x penalties for the
violation of ordinances, which shall not exceed a two-hundred-peso ne or six
months imprisonment, or both such ne and imprisonment, for a single offense.
(Sec. 17, sub-section [ee]).
Ordinance No. 65, entitled "An Ordinance Regulating Tra c Operation of Rigs,
Registration of Rig and Rig Drivers License, Licensing of Push Cart Owners and The
Carrying of Lights," contains detailed provisions concerning the use of city streets by
such conveyances, the movement and parking thereof, rights of way, loading
limitations, tra c signals and registration and collection of license fees. The
occupation of rig drivers is undoubtedly within the power of the City of Cebu to
regulate, involving as it does not only the use of municipal property but also such
matters of public interest as sanitation and safety, good order, comfort, convenience
and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants. This premise established, the
pertinent question is whether or not in the exercise of such power of regulation license
fees may be validly imposed. Three classes of municipal licenses are generally
recognized: rst, licenses for the regulation of useful occupations and enterprises;
second, licenses for the regulation or restriction of non-useful occupations and
enterprises; third, licenses for revenue only. The rst two classes are based on the
police power of the municipality, which carries with it the right to x license fees. The
amount of license fees for the rst class is only that which may be su cient to cover
the expense of issuing the license and the cost of necessary inspection or police
surveillance of the business. The license fees for the second class may be much higher,
as in the case of licenses for the sale of liquor. The fee for the third class is not a
license fee, strictly speaking. It rests upon the taxing power and must be expressly
granted by charter or statute. Cu Unjieng vs. Patstone, 42 Phil. 818; Paci c Commercial
Co. vs. Romualdez, 49 Phil. 917.
In the present case it is obvious that the license fee of P1.00 per year imposed
upon every rig driver is not intended to raise revenue but only to defray the necessary
expenses of registration and police regulation. Appellant's reliance on the decision of
this Court in Santos Lumber Co. et al. vs. City of Cebu et al., G.R. No. L-10196, is
misplaced, because the power exercised by the city and held invalid therein is the
power of taxation, which is exclusively an attribute of the sovereign state unless
conferred by statute upon its political subdivisions.
The fine imposed by the court a quo upon appellant is in accordance with section
50 (a), in connection with section 42, of Ordinance No. 65 of the City of Cebu.
The judgment is affirmed, with costs.
Bengzon, C . J ., Padilla, Bautista Angelo, Labrador, Concepcion, Reyes, J .B.L.,
Barrera, Paredes, Dizon and Regala, JJ ., concur.

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EN BANC

[G.R. No. L-15346. June 29, 1962.]

THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES , plaintiff-appellee, vs. ROGELIO

Solicitor General for plaintiff-appellee.

1. MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS; POWER TO REGULATE OCCUPATIONS AND

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