34 Ynot Vs IAC PDF
34 Ynot Vs IAC PDF
34 Ynot Vs IAC PDF
DOCTRINES
1. Due Process
2. Police Power
FACTS:
The petitioner had transported six carabaos in a pump boat from Masbate to Iloilo in
January1984, when they were confiscated by the police station commander for violation
of E.O. No. 626-A which prohibits the interprovincial movement of carabaos and the
slaughtering of carabaos not complying with the requirements of E.O. No. 626 (except
when the carabao is seven years old already, if male, and eleven years old if female). The
penalty is confiscation of the carabaos and/or the carabeef.
EO 626 was created by Marcos (an EO which takes a similar form of a Pres. Decree,
actually daw), and it was created: kasi ang kalabaw ay “matter of public interest” because
of their connection with “agricultural output”, citing (US v Toribio) where a similar law
was sustained a A VALID POLICE MEASURE to prevent the indiscriminate killing of
carabaos.
ISSUE:
Whether E.O. No. 626-A is unconstitutional (not the EO 626 na nauna ha) insofar as it
authorizes the outright confiscation of carabao and carabeef being transported across
provincial boundaries, thus denying due process. Outright, meaning walang prior notice
or hearing, basta confiscate lang..
HELD:
The due process clause was kept intentionally vague so it would remain so conveniently
resilient for due process is not an “iron rule.” Flexibility must be the best virtue of
guaranty. The minimum requirements of due process are notice and hearing which,
generally speaking, may not be dispensed with because they are intended as a safeguard
against official arbitrariness.
NOTE:
Justice Felix Frankfurter defines due process as: the embodiment of the sporting idea of
fair play”
The solemn vow that King John made at RUNNYMEDE in 1215 became the basis of due
process: that every person, when confronted with the stern visage of the law, is entitled to
have his say IN A FAIR AND OPEN HEARING OF HIS CAUSE.
HOWEVER, this is not to say that notice and hearing are imperative in every case.
Admitted Exceptions:
1) In cases where there is a NUISANCE PER SE (vs a nuisance per accidens, which s
treated differently)
2) The protection of the general welfare (ang ganda nito: police power is what both
RESTRAINS and
IS RESTRAINED by due process)
It is noted that E.O. No. 626-A imposes an absolute ban NOT on the slaughter of the
carabaos but on their movement. The reasonable connection between the means
employed and the purpose sought to be achieved by the question of measure is missing.
Even if there was a reasonable relation, the penalty being an outright confiscation and a
supersedeas bond of Php12,000.00. The executive order defined the prohibition,
convicted the petitioner and immediately imposed punishment, thus denying the
centuries-old guaranty of elementary fair play.