G.R. No. L-12647 - American Mail Line vs. City of Basilan

On September 12, 1955, the City Council of Basilan City enacted Ordinance No. 180, Series of 1955.
This ordinance amended Title IV of Ordinance No. 7, Series of 1948 by adding new provisions regulating vessel activities within the city’s territorial waters.

The amendment introduced Section 1(D) and Sections 2(C) and (D).
Section 1(D) provided that any foreign vessel engaged in coastwise trade and anchoring within the territorial waters of Basilan for loading or unloading logs, passengers, or cargoes must pay an anchorage fee.
The fee was set at 1/2 centavo per registered gross ton for the first twenty-four (24) hours (or any part thereof) with a maximum charge of seventy-five pesos per day, regardless of the vessel's tonnage.

Appellees: Foreign shipping companies, licensed to do business in the Philippines, with offices in Manila. Their vessels routinely call at Basilan City and avail of anchorage within its waters.
Appellants: The City of Basilan officials, including the city treasurer who assessed and attempted to collect the anchorage fees based on the amended ordinance.

The shipping companies (appellees) filed an action for Declaratory Relief seeking judicial determination on the validity of Ordinance No. 180.
A writ of preliminary injunction was issued by the lower court to restrain the collection of the prescribed anchorage fees.
After appellants’ motion to dismiss the complaint (on the ground of wrong venue) was denied, the city filed an answer asserting their legal authority to enact the ordinance.
The City of Basilan also filed a counterclaim to recover alleged uncollected anchorage dues and expenses incurred in defending the suit.

The city justified the ordinance's enactment under its Charter (Republic Act 288), specifically citing Section 14.
The relevant provisions of RA 288 granted the city the power to levy taxes and fix charges for the use of public facilities (such as wharves, docks, levees, or landing places), but only “in accordance with law” or “as provided by law.”

The central question was whether the City of Basilan possessed the authority to enact the ordinance and collect the anchorage fees.
An additional point for resolution was whether the fee was a regulatory imposition under the city’s police power or a de facto revenue-raising tax beyond the city’s statutory powers.

Did the City of Basilan have the authority, as granted by its Charter (RA 288), to enact Ordinance No. 180 and impose anchorage fees?
Does the power to “levy and collect taxes for general and special purposes in accordance with law” include the imposition of such fees?

Is the fee imposed by the ordinance a regulation fee under the exercise of the city’s police power, or is it essentially a revenue-raising measure?
Does the fee conform to the requirement of being solely for covering the costs of regulation (inspection, permit issuance, and surveillance) as mandated by jurisprudence?

Does Section 14(v) of RA 288, which allows the city to “fix the charges to be paid by all watercraft landing at or using public wharves, docks, levees or landing places,” empower the city to impose anchorage fees?
Is the nature of anchorage fees adequately covered under this statutory provision?

How does the fee imposed by Basilica City compare with the national harbor fee imposed on foreign vessels (e.g., the 50-peso fee under the Tariff and Customs Code, RA 1937)?
Does the higher fee indicate an ulterior revenue-generating purpose rather than a mere regulatory measure?