COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS V.

EASTER SEA TRADING

October 31, 1961 | Concepcion, J.
Foreign affairs
AKGL

DOCTRINE: Treatises are those which involve international arrangement of a permanent character, while executive agreements are
those which embody adjustments of detail in carrying out well-established national policies.
CASE SUMMARY: Please see facts. Short lang naman.

FACTS:
Respondent Eastern Sea Trading was the consignee of several shipments of onion and garlic. However, none of the shipments
had the certificate required by Central Bank Circulars 44 and 45. The said circulars were pursuant to Executive Order 328.
On the other hand, EO 328 was the implementing law of the Trades and Financial Agreements, an executive agreement,
entered into between the Philippines and Japan. The said executive agreement states, among others, that all import
transactions between Japan and the Philippines should be invoiced in dollar. In this case, the said items imported from Japan
were not invoiced in dollar.
Thus, the goods were seized. The Collector Of Customs declared such goods are to be forfeited in favor of the government.
CTA reversed the RTC decision on the following grounds:
o Central Bank has no authority to regulate transactions not involving foreign exchange
o The shipments are in the nature of no-dollar imports.
o The seizure and forfeiture of the goods imported from Japan cannot be justified under Executive Order No. 328, not
only because the same seeks to implement an executive agreement, but also believed that there is no governmental
agency authorized to issue the import license. (The executive agreement had not concurred by the Senate).

ISSUE: WON the acts of Eastern Sea were to be considered (as provided by the Consti) are valid and constitutional? YES

RULING:
The authority of Central Bank to regulate their no-dollar imports and the exercise of the powers assigned to the Monetary
Board and to the Central Bankconnote the authority to regulate nodollar imports, owing to the influence and effect that the
same may and do have upon the stability of our peso and its international value have already been settled in a lot of cases
(e.g., Pascual v. Comm. Customs).
Treaties are formal documents, which require ratification with the approval of two thirds of the Senate. Executive agreements
become binding through executive action without the need of a vote by the Senate or by Congress. International agreements
involving political issues or changes of national policy and those involving international arrangements of a permanent
character usually take the form of treaties. But international agreements embodying adjustments of detail carrying out well-
established national policies and traditions and those involving arrangements of a more or less temporary nature usually take
the form of executive agreements.
The authority to issue import licenses was not vested exclusively upon the Import Control Commission, because Executive
Order No. 328 provided for export or import licenses from the Central Bank of the Philippines or the Import Control
Administration or Commission. The latter was created only to perform the task of implementing certain objectives of the
Monetary Board and the Central Bank, which otherwise had to be undertaken by these two (2) agencies.
It is unreasonable to require Easters Sea Trading to an import license when the Import Control Commission was no longer in
existence.

DISPOSITION: The decision appealed from is hereby REVERSED.

NOTES: