CA reverses RTC on MC Adore complaint vs AMB ALC
THE Court of Appeals (CA) has dismissed a civil case against the sale of a city-owned hotel here to AMB ALC Holdings and Management Corporation, Inc by annulling a Regional Trial Court’s resolution denying the motion to dismiss the complaint filed by Leo Angeles, a taxpayer.
In a 10-page decision signed by Associate Justices Zenaida Galapate-Laguilles, Mariflor Castillo and Florito Macalino, the CA 10th Division annulled an earlier resolution of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 42 in Dagupan City denying a motion filed by AMB ALC Holdings and Management Corporation, Inc. seeking the dismissal of a complaint filed by Leo Angeles, in his capacity as taxpayer, against the Pasig-based company.
RTC Presiding Judge Florentino Dumlao had denied AMB ALC Holdings motion to dismiss Angeles’ complaint, saying the action is of “paramount public interest” as it involved serious allegation of a violation of a legal duty against the city government of Dagupan.
The CA, however, cited a jurisprudence in its decision promulgated on Dec. 11, 2015 wherein in the case of Macalintal vs. Presidential Electoral Tribunal, the Supreme Court had laid down the following rules where taxpayers, voters, concerned citizens and legislators may be accorded standing to sue: 1) in cases involving constitutional issues; 2) for taxpayers, there must be a claim of illegal disbursement of public funds or that the tax measure is unconstitutional; 3) for voters, there must be a showing of obvious interest in the validity of the election law in question; 4) for concerned citizens, there must be a showing that the issues raised are of transcendental importance which must be settled early, and 5) for legislators, there must be a claim that the official action complained of infringes upon their prerogatives as legislators.
“A cursory perusal of private respondent’s (Angeles) complaint provides nothing of that sort,” the CA said.
It added that,” Nonetheless, there is an abject failure to allege, nay, even insinuate, that public funds were illegally disbursed or the same would be used for unlawful purposes affecting its wastage. Neither is there an averment that the city government of Dagupan, in entering into a transaction with petitioner, has caused material injury to its coffers and the residents, including private respondent.”
“In fine, the case obviously should not be categorized as a taxpayer suit for the allegations in the complaint as well as the documentary evidence attached thereto do not qualify it as such,” it added.
The court also pointed out that to stress a well-entrenched principle, taxpayers have been allowed to sue where there is a claim that public funds are illegally disbursed or that public funds are wasted through the enforcement of an invalid or unconstitutional law.
The CA decision, in annulling the RTC resolution, said “it was arbitrary for the RTC to entertain private respondents’ standing to pursue the complaint despite the obvious lack of personality to do so”.
The legal controversy involved AMB ALC Holdings’ acquisition of MC Adore International Palace, a seven-storey hotel and a theater building including its equipment and machinery, owned by the city government on Jan. 28, 2013. The property was bought by AMB ALC Holdings in the sum of P119-million. (Tita Roces)
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