Macalinao, Romielyn P.

Subject: Constitutional Law 1

Topic: Non-Suability of the State
Title: MUNICIPALITY OF SAN FERNANDO vs JUDGE FIRME
Reference: 195 SCRA 692

FACTS

Municipality of San Fernando, La Union is a municipal

corporation existing under and in accordance with the laws of the
Republic of the Philippines.

A collision occured at about 7 am of December 16, 1965,

involving a passenger jeepney driven by Bernardo Balagot and owned
by the Estate of Macario Nieveras, a gravel and sand truck driven by
Jose Manandeg and owned by Tanquilino Velasquez and a dump truck
of the petitioner and driven by Alfredo Bislig. Several passengers of
the jeepney including Laureano Bania Sr. died as a result of the
injuries they sustained and 4 others suffered physical injuries.

Because of the tragic incident, private respondents instituted an

action against Nieveras and Balagot before the Court of First Instance.
The defendants filed a third party complaint against petitioner and
Bislig. The complaint was then amended to implead petitioner and
Bislig.

Petitioner raised as a defense lack of cause of action, non

suability of the State, prescription and negligence of the owner and
driver of the jeepney. The trial court rendered a decision ordering the
petitioner and Bislig to pay the plaintiffs. The owner and driver of the
jeepney were absolved from liability. Petitioner filed an MR which was
dismissed for having been filed out of time.

ISSUES

Whether or not the court committed grave abuse of discretion

when it deferred and failed to resolve the defense of non-suability of
the State amounting to lack of jurisdiction in a motion to dismiss?

RULINGS

No, The judge did not commit grave abuse of discretion when it
arbitrarily failed to resolve the issue of non-suability of the State in the
guise of the municipality. However, the judge acted in excess of his
jurisdiction when in his decision he held the municipality liable for the
quasi-delict committed by its regular employee.

The doctrine of non-suability of the State is expressly provided

for in Article XVI, Section 3 of the Consti,to wit: "the State may not be
sued without its consent."

In the case at bar, the judge deferred the resolution of the

defense of non-suability of the State until trial. However, the judge
failed to resolve such defense, proceeded with the trial and then
rendered a decision against the municipality and its driver.

To clarify, express consent may be embodied in a general law

or a special law. The standing consent of the State to be sued in case
of money claims involving liability arising from contracts is found in Act
No. 3083. A special law may be passed to enable a person to sue the
government foran alleged quasi-delict. Consent is implied when the
government enters into business contracts, thereby descending to the
level of the other contracting party, and also when the State files a
complaint, thus opening itself to a counterclaim.

Municipal corporations are agencies of the State when they are

engaged in governmental functions and therefore should enjoy the
sovereign immunity from suit. Nevertheless, they are subject to suit
even in the performance of such functions because their charter
provided that they can sue and be sued.

A distinction should first be made between suability and liability.

"Suability depends on the consent of the state to be sued, liability on
the applicable law and the established facts. The circumstance that a
state issuable does not necessarily mean that it is liable; on the other
hand, it can never be held liable if it does not first consent to be sued.

Hence, the driver of the dump truck was performing duties or

tasks pertaining to his office.

After a careful examination of existing laws and jurisprudence,

We arrive at the conclusion that the municipality cannot be held liable
for the torts committed by its regular employee, who was then
engaged in the discharge of governmental functions. Hence, the death
of the passenger tragic and deplorable though it may be imposed on
the municipality no duty to pay monetary compensation.