Case Summary (G.R. No. L-18740)
Petitioner’s Claim and Relief Sought
The petitioner sought a writ (mandamus) compelling the Collector of Internal Revenue to issue a certificate of origin for a consignment (10,000 machine-made cigars) so that the cigars could be admitted into the United States free of customs duties. The petition relied on provisions of Act No. 2613 (1916) authorizing the Collector of Internal Revenue to inspect and certify tobacco as standard for export and to certify its Philippine origin to the Insular Collector of Customs, who would then issue the necessary certificate of origin.
Respondents’ Pleadings and Procedural Posture
Respondents’ demurrer to the petition was overruled on March 29, 1922; an answer was filed on April 3, and the petitioner moved for judgment on the pleadings on April 21. The answer admitted several factual allegations in the petition (including statutory and regulatory provisions pleaded in paragraphs 4, 5, 6, and 7) but interposed defenses asserting discretionary authority and denying that the petition established a right to the requested certificate.
Relevant Statutory and Regulatory Provisions
Act No. 2613 (1916)—“An act to improve the methods of production and the quality of tobacco in the Philippines and to develop the export trade therein”—specifically empowers the Collector of Internal Revenue to promulgate rules for classification, marking, packing, and inspection of tobacco for domestic sale or export, and authorizes certification of standard tobacco as Philippine-grown to facilitate duty-free admission into the United States. Administrative Order No. 35 (Tobacco Inspection Regulations), promulgated under clause B of section 6 of Act No. 2613, defines “standard” cigars to include requirements such as manufacture under sanitary conditions, use of good selected tobacco, a crop harvested at least six months prior, and a requirement that cigars be manufactured exclusively from the product of the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, or Nueva Vizcaya and be “long filler” cigars.
Factual Admissions Concerning the Cigars
The parties’ pleadings, as characterized by the court, effectively admit that the cigars presented by petitioner were machine-made, short-filler cigars manufactured with tobacco that was not exclusively the product of Cagayan, Isabela, or Nueva Vizcaya. The Collector of Internal Revenue, upon receiving the petitioner’s application on or about February 6, 1922, accepted petitioner’s representation that the cigars were short-filler and not grown in the three provinces, and on that basis declined to inspect and refused to issue the certificate of origin.
Respondents’ Special Defense Regarding Discretion
Respondents asserted as a special defense that the Collector of Internal Revenue possessed discretionary power under section 11 of Act No. 2613 and section 5 of the Administrative Code of 1917 to decide whether manufactured tobacco met the requisites of Administrative Order No. 35. They further contended that it was within the Collector’s discretion whether to inspect and certify manufactured tobacco and that the courts lacked jurisdiction to compel issuance of the certificate unless, after inspection, the Collector found the tobacco compliant.
Legal Question Presented
Whether, under the admitted facts, the Collector’s refusal (based on the asserted nonconformity of the cigars with Administrative Order No. 35) constituted a lawful exercise of discretion that could be pleaded as a defense to the petitioner’s request for a writ compelling issuance of a certificate of origin.
Court’s Analysis of the Admissions and Grounds of Refusal
The court observed that because the answer admitted the specific grounds for refusal—that the cigars were not long-filler and were not manufactured from tobacco grown in one of the three specified provinces—the defendants were confined to those specified grounds and could not rely on other unpled grounds for refusal. The court treated the answer’s statements as an effective admission that the Collector rejected the request for the sole stated reasons.
Administrative Order No. 35 and Prior Ruling
The court noted that the respondents’ refusal was based upon portions of Administrative Order No. 35 that, according to a prior opinion of the court referenced in the record, had been held null and void. Given that the Collector promulgated and acted under those regulations, the court reasoned that the Collector's refusal was in effect a refusal pursuant to regulations the court had previously invalidated.
Demand and Futility Doctrine in Mandamus Practice
Relying on established mandamus practice, the court explained that a formal demand for performance is not required where (i) the officer’s conduct demonstrates a settled purpose not to perform the duty, or (ii) making the demand would be a vain and useless formality. The court cited authorities to the effect that
...continue readingCase Syllabus (G.R. No. L-18740)
Procedural History
- Citation: 43 Phil. 345 [ G. R. No. 18740. April 28, 1922 ].
- On March 29, 1922, respondents' demurrer to the petition was overruled.
- On April 3, 1922, an answer was duly filed by respondents.
- On April 21, 1922, the petitioner filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings.
- The opinion notes that "The facts are fully stated in the former opinion." [1]
Statutory and Regulatory Framework Relied Upon in the Pleadings
- The petition invokes subdivisions of section 6 of Act No. 2613 of the Philippine Legislature, passed February 4, 1916, entitled "An act to improve the methods of production and the quality of tobacco in the Philippines and to develop the export trade therein."
- Section 6 (as pleaded) authorizes the Collector of Internal Revenue to establish general and local rules respecting classification, marking and packing of tobacco for domestic sale or exportation, and includes: "No leaf tobacco or manufactured tobacco shall be exported from the Philippine Islands to the United States until it shall have been inspected by the Collector of Internal Revenue or his duly authorized representative and found to be standard for export * * *."
- Section 6 further (as pleaded) authorizes the Collector of Internal Revenue to act as stamp agent for the United States Commissioner of Internal Revenue to certify to the Insular Collector of Customs that the standard tobacco exported is the growth and product of the Philippine Islands; upon such certificate the Insular Collector of Customs "shall issue such certificate of origin as may be necessary to insure the speedy admission of the standard tobacco into the United States free of customs duties."
- The petition pleads paragraph 5 describing Administrative Order No. 35, promulgated by the Collector of Internal Revenue under clause B of section 6 of Act No. 2613, known as "Tobacco Inspection Regulations."
- The petition pleads federal constitutional and statutory provisions: paragraph 6 pleads "the provisions of section 1 of article 1 of the Constitution of the United States," and paragraph 7 pleads "section 10 of the 'Jones Law.'"
- Respondents allege, as a special defense, that under section 11 of Act No. 2613 and section 5 of the Administrative Code of 1917, the Collector of Internal Revenue has discretionary power to decide whether the manufactured tobacco sought to be exported fulfills the requisites prescribed by Administrative Order No. 35.
Administrative Order No. 35 — Tobacco Inspection Regulations (as quoted in pleadings)
- The petition quotes Administrative Order No. 35: "To be classed as standard, cigars must be manufactured under sanitary conditions from good, clean, selected tobacco, properly cured and seasoned, of a crop which has been harvested at least six months, exclusively the product of the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, or Nueva Vizcaya. The cigars must be well made, with suitable spiral wrapper and with long filler, etc."
- The petition alleges these regulations were promulgated by the Collector of Internal Revenue under authority claimed from Act No. 2613.
Facts Alleged in the Petition (as pleaded)
- Paragraph 4: Pleads subdivisions of section 6 of Act No. 2613 empowering the Collector of Internal Revenue as summarized above.
- Paragraph 5: Pleads the promulgation and content of Administrative Order No. 35 (quoted above).
- Paragraphs 6 and 7: Plead federal constitutional provision and the Jones Law provision (as noted above).
- Paragraph 11 (alleged in petition): Among other things, alleges that on February 6 the respondent Collector of Internal Revenue "wrongfully and unlawfully refused and neglected and still unlawfully refuses and neglects to issue such certificate of origin on the ground that said cigars were not manufactured of long-filler tobacco produced exclusively in the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, or Nueva Vizcaya."
Admissions and Allegations in the Answer (as pleaded)
- The answer admits paragraphs 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the petition.
- Paragraph 6 of the answer (as pleaded) states:
- The petitioner applied to the Collector of Internal Revenue for a certificate of origin covering a consignment of 10,000 machine-made cigars to San Francisco on or about February 6, 1922.
- The petitioner himself stated on making such application that the cigars sought to be exported "must have been manufactured from short-filler tobacco which was not the product of the pr