Case Digest (G.R. No. 207132)
Facts:
Association of Medical Clinics for Overseas Workers, Inc. (AMCOW) v. GCC Approved Medical Centers Association, Inc. (GAMCA), G.R. Nos. 207132 and 207205, December 06, 2016, Supreme Court En Banc, Brion, J., writing for the Court. Petitioners are AMCOW (G.R. No. 207132) and Hon. Enrique T. Ona, in his capacity as Secretary of the Department of Health (DOH) (G.R. No. 207205); respondents are GCC Approved Medical Centers Association, Inc. (GAMCA) and Christian E. Cangco.The dispute traces to the DOH’s long history of regulating the so‑called “referral decking system” used to process health examinations of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) bound for Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) States. In 2001 the DOH issued Administrative Order No. 5 (AO 5‑01) authorizing or recognizing GAMCA’s decking/referral system; later DOH issuances — AO No. 106 (2002) and AO No. 159 (2004) — held implementation in abeyance and eventually AO No. 167 (2004) revoked AO 5‑01, criticizing the system for not assuring safe and quality health services. A 2008 DOH memorandum again directed GAMCA clinics to stop the decking practice; GAMCA appealed to the Office of the President (OP), which in January 2010 nullified that memorandum.
On March 8, 2010 Republic Act No. 10022 (amending RA 8042) lapsed into law; Section 16 (added provisions (c) and (d)) directed the DOH to regulate health examinations for migrant workers and expressly prohibited “the decking practice,” guaranteed OFWs freedom to choose DOH‑accredited clinics, and penalized monopolistic or exclusive arrangements. The IRR took effect August 13, 2010. Pursuant to Section 16, DOH issued an August 23, 2010 letter‑order (received August 25, 2010) directing GAMCA to cease the referral decking system and to wrap up operations; a reiterative order followed on November 2, 2010.
GAMCA filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition with prayer for injunctive relief before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Pasig (later raffled to RTC, Branch 108, Pasay) on August 26, 2010, challenging the DOH CDO letters for grave abuse of discretion and seeking to strike down portions of Section 16 of RA No. 10022 as unconstitutional. AMCOW moved to intervene and was permitted by the RTC. The RTC issued a writ of preliminary injunction on August 1, 2011. In its August 10, 2012 decision the RTC granted GAMCA’s petition, declared the DOH CDO letters null and void ab initio, issued a writ of prohibition against the DOH, and made the preliminary injunction permanent; motions for reconsideration were denied....(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Did the RTC legally err in giving due course to GAMCA’s petition for certiorari and prohibition against the DOH CDO letters?
- Do the DOH CDO letters prohibiting GAMCA’s referral decking system under Section 16 of RA No. 10022 amount to an undue taking of property in violation of Article II, Section 3 (as argued)?
- Does applying Section 16 of RA No. 10022 to GAMCA violate international customary principles of sovereign independence and equality (i.e., does sovereign immunity/co...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)