G.R. No. L-4821 - Ariaga vs. Javellana

The case involves a petition for review brought by Natividad Ariaga challenging orders of the Public Service Commission (PSC).

Originally, on March 28, 1950, the PSC unanimously approved three applications (filed by Mariano Cacho, Juan Salvador, and Natividad Ariaga) for a certificate of public convenience to install, operate, and maintain a 15-ton ice plant and a 10,000 cubic feet cold storage facility in the City of Iloilo with the right to sell their produce both in the city and the Province of Iloilo.

The applications were opposed by established ice plant operators, namely Elpidio Javellana and La Paz Ice Plant and Cold Storage Co., Inc.

Opposition to the original decision led Elpidio Javellana to file a motion for reconsideration on April 25, 1950.

The PSC, upon learning of a petition for review by La Paz Ice Plant and Cold Storage Co., Inc., initially refrained from acting on the motion for reconsideration until the Supreme Court rendered its decision on the pending petition.

La Paz Ice Plant and Cold Storage Co., Inc. later withdrew its appeal, prompting the PSC to eventually consider the motion for reconsideration filed by Javellana.

Commissioner Feliciano Ocampo’s order (January 11, 1951) maintained the original decision of March 28, 1950.

Commissioner Gabriel P. Prieto’s order (January 29, 1951) modified the decision by granting that the applicants’ ice plants be installed only somewhere within the Province of Iloilo and not specifically within the City of Iloilo.

Commissioner Quintin Paredes, Jr.’s order (February 1, 1951) concurred with Prieto but added the modification that the plant’s location be determined by the applicants within the province.

Natividad Ariaga, the petitioner, filed a motion for reconsideration against the modified orders of Commissioners Prieto and Paredes, Jr., arguing that the amended decision deviated from the evidence and harmed her interests.

The petition for review arose from this split in the PSC’s orders following the motion for reconsideration.

A related petition for certiorari had previously been filed by La Paz Ice Plant and Cold Storage Co., Inc. on August 22, 1950, challenging the March 28, 1950 decision on procedural and evidentiary grounds, including issues concerning potential harm to the business of existing operators.

The evidence submitted by all parties consistently supported the necessity of installing the ice plants within the City of Iloilo, a point underscored by detailed findings of fact.

The petitioner had already made a significant investment, acquiring the site, machinery, and other facilities based on the original, unanimous PSC decision.

The modification of the decision by imposing an indefinite location outside the City of Iloilo was argued to be prejudicial and unjust, as it threatened to undermine the petitioner’s investment and reliable reliance on the original order.

Whether the PSC had proper jurisdiction and justification to modify its original decision of March 28, 1950, by directing that the ice plants be installed somewhere within the Province of Iloilo rather than specifically within the City of Iloilo.
Whether the modification of the decision—made during the motion for reconsideration—was supported by substantial evidence presented in the joined cases.
Whether the modified ruling, which changed the designated place of installation, was arbitrary and unjust, particularly in light of the petitioner’s significant investments made in reliance on the original order.
Whether the reversal or alteration of the established decision would undermine the safe reliance and fairness principle in the regulation of public convenience and service.