Case Digest (G.R. No. L-25798)
Facts:
- Petitioners filed a petition for certiorari to enjoin the enforcement and implementation of two orders issued by Commissioners Enrique Medina and Isidro Tayag of the First Division, Public Service Commission.
- The orders granted provisional authority to the respondent bus operators to increase their rates.
- Respondent bus operators filed an application with the Public Service Commission for an increase in bus fares.
- They requested authority to increase fares by one centavo per passenger per kilometer and to charge a minimum fare of fifteen centavos per passenger.
- The Commission scheduled a hearing on the application.
- Only a few registered their opposition to the application.
- Petitioners and other oppositors filed their oppositions.
- Urgent petitions for provisional authority to adjust passenger rates were filed by certain bus operators while the hearing was ongoing.
- The Commission granted the provisional authority and issued an order allowing the respondent bus operators and other operators in the same area and operating under the same conditions to increase their rates.
- A motion for reconsideration was filed, but it was denied.
Issue:
- (Unlock)
Ruling:
- The present petition cannot be resolved by the Court because all motions for reconsideration of a decision or non-interlocutory order of any Commissioner or division should be heard directly by the Commission en banc.
- The concurrence of at least four Commissioners is necessary for the promulgation of a final decision or order resolving such motion for reconsideration.
- The case was remanded to the Public Service Commission en banc for further proceedings(Unlock)
Case Digest (G.R. No. L-25798)
Facts:
In the case of Beltran v. Medina, the petitioners filed a petition for certiorari to enjoin the enforcement and implementation of two orders issued by the First Division of the Public Service Commission. The orders granted provisional authority to increase bus fares. The petitioners argued that the First Division lacked jurisdiction to issue the orders and that they were contrary to law.
On April 24, 1964, the respondent bus operators filed an application with the Public Service Commission for an increase in bus fares. They requested authority to increase fares by one centavo per passenger per kilometer and to charge a minimum fare of fifteen centavos per passenger. The Commission scheduled a hearing on the application and required the operators to notify relevant authorities and publish the application in newspapers. Only a few provinces and some opposition groups filed formal opposition to the application.
The petitioners, as residents and representatives of opposition groups, also filed opposition to the application. They requested an audit and examination of the bus operators' financial condition by the General Auditing Office. The Commission denied their motion, stating that the operators had already submitted financial statements and income tax returns.
The First Division of the Public Service Commission, composed of Commissioners Medina, Tayag, and Panganiban, issued an order on December 8, 1965, granting provisional authority to the bus operators to increase fares. The order was immediately effective and authorized other operators in the same area and operating under the same conditions to increas...