Facts:

• Plaintiffs: Policarpio Viray, Antonio Cajote, and Leopoldo Prieto, residents of Manila.
• Paid entrance fees to the City Treasurer of Caloocan for burying their relatives in La Loma Cemetery.
• Ordinance No. 94, series of 1962, mandated these fees, enforced by the Municipal Board of Caloocan.
• Fees were P5.00 for children under 14 and P10.00 for adults from outside Caloocan for burial in private cemeteries.
• Plaintiffs contested the legality of this ordinance in the Court of First Instance of Caloocan (Civ. Case No. 9-C).
• Argued that the ordinance exceeded the city's taxing authority and was a revenue-raising measure.
• The lower court dismissed the case, supporting the ordinance as authorized by the city's charter and other laws.
• Plaintiffs appealed to the Supreme Court.

Issue:

• (Unlock)

Ruling:

• The Supreme Court reversed the lower court's decision.
• Declared the questioned portion of Ordinance No. 94, series of 1962, ultra vires and void....(Unlock)

Ratio:

• The City of Caloocan has legislative power to regulate the exhumation and transfer of corpses.
• Imposing entrance fees for burial in private cemeteries was unjustified.
• The Local Autonomy Act (Republic Act No. 2264) permits cities to impose municipal license taxes or fees on occupations, businesses, or privileges.
• Burying a cadaver in a private cemetery is not an occupation, business, or privilege under the Act.
• The ordinance was ...continue reading