National Airport Corporation vs Teodoro

FACTS:

 The Philippine Airlines Inc. paid the National Airport Corporation 65,245 PHP as fees of
landing and parking on the Bacolod Airport no. 2
 The owner of the land commenced an action to the Court of First instance of Negros
Occidental against the Philippines Airlines Inc. and to recover the said amount.
 The third party plaintiff alleged on the belief and the assumption that the third party
defendant was the lessee of the land subject of the complaint and that the defendant and its
predecessors in the interest were the operators and maintainers of the said airport and
further, that the third party defendant would pay to the landowners the reasonable rental
for the use of their land.
 The Solicitor General then filed a motion to dismiss on the ground that the court lack
jurisdiction to entertain the complaint on the that the agency of the Philippines,
unincorporated and not possessing juridical personality under the law, is incapable of suing
and to be sued.

ISSUE:

Does the Civil Aeronautics Administration be immune from being sued?

HELD:

NO, Supreme Court said “not all government entities, whether corporate or non-corporate, are
immune to suits. Immunity from suits is determined by the character of the objects for which the
entity is organized”. Here, the Civil Aeronautics Administration was not found to maintain a
necessary function of the government, but to run essentially a business…

Hence, the plea of immunity was not upheld.