G.R. No. L-28055 - Republic vs. Montano

The parties agreed that the Cavite Department of Public Safety (CDPS) possesses the nature, attributes, powers, and functions of a police force.
In 1964, the Provincial Board of Cavite passed Resolution 27 creating the CDPS "to be manned by trained technicians and investigators who shall be agents of a person in authority (the Provincial Governor)" and authorized funds for its operation.
The resolution, however, did not define the specific powers and functions of the department.
Subsequently, on March 1, 1965, the respondent Governor implemented Administrative Order 65-1, which:

Formally named the agency as the Cavite Department of Public Safety (or KAGAWARAN NG KALIGTASAN BAYAN) and termed its members as Public Safety Officers.
Enumerated purposes and functions including:

Technical assistance to local police units with modern crime-detection methods.
Elevation of police performance standards by providing training.
Focusing law-enforcement efforts on crimes against persons and property as well as enforcing traffic laws.
Establishing a central record system for personal and criminal identification.
Acting as the civil defense arm responsible for emergency measures in coordination with the National Civil Defense Administration.
Detecting and collecting loose firearms and controlling "misused" weapons.
Coordinating fire protection by maintaining firefighting equipment.
Conducting search and rescue operations during disasters.
Undertaking civic action projects as assigned by the Provincial Governor.
Enforcing various public safety and preventive measures including accident prevention and hazard elimination.

Provided for the organizational setup, with a central office at Trece Martires City and at least three sector stations in strategic locations.
Clarified that the CDPS was created not to usurp local police functions but to assist them, establishing liaison with agencies such as the NBI and the PC.

The organizational structure was not fully delineated in the administrative order as it was already specified in the provincial budget for 1963-1964.
The respondent Governor subsequently appointed the other respondents as public safety officers, effectively making them his special agents.

On September 20, 1967, the Solicitor General, representing the Government, filed a petition for quo warranto, challenging the legality of creating the CDPS on the ground that the province lacked the authority to create public offices with police functions.
It was argued that despite directives from the President and the ongoing exercise of police functions by the CDPS, the province had no express statutory grant to create such an agency.
On September 25, 1967, a temporary restraining order was issued by the Court, enjoining the respondent Governor and his appointees from exercising the disputed police functions.

The respondents contended that the power to create the agency was implied from section 3 of the Local Autonomy Act of 1959, which grants provincial boards the authority to appropriate money “for purposes not specified by law” for the general welfare of the province.
They further invoked section 12 of the Act, urging a liberal construction in favor of local government powers.
Additionally, references were made to section 9 of the Police Act of 1966, which, while governing the qualifications for police appointments, mentioned “provincial police agencies” suggesting an implied recognition of such bodies.
Historical statutes (e.g., provisions from the Organic Act of the Provinces, the Administrative Code of 1916, and section 2106(a) of the Revised Administrative Code) were cited to argue that provincial boards had long been empowered to appropriate funds for general welfare, including police functions, although not expressly to create offices.

Whether a provincial government, by necessary implication from the power to appropriate funds for the general welfare (as provided in the Local Autonomy Act), may create a provincial police force without an express statutory grant.
Whether the creation of the Cavite Department of Public Safety constitutes an exercise of a power that was not explicitly provided for in law, thus falling outside the limits of implied powers.

Whether the department’s creation, through Resolution 27 and Administrative Order 65-1, is tantamount to the creation of a public office with police functions without legislative authority.
Whether the mere implication derived from the power of appropriation can justify the substantive and organizational creation of a separate police body at the provincial level.