OCA CIRCULAR NO. 38 -2014

A L L J U D G E SL E V E L C O U R T S

O F T H E F I R S T A N D S E C O N D

S U B J E C T : J U D I C I O U S I M P L E M E N T A T I O N O F C O U R TI S S U A N C E S C O N C E R N I N G T H E B A N O NT H E I S S U A N C E O F T E M P O R A R YR E S T R A I N I N G O R D E R S O R W R I T S O FP R E L I M I N A R Y I N J U N C T I O N S I N V O LV I N GG O V E R N M E N T I N F R A S T R U C T U R E P R O J E C T S

T h e D e p a r t m e n t o f T r a n s p o r t a t i o n a n d C o m m u n i c a t i o n a n dD e p a r t m e n t o f P u b l i c W o r k s a n d H i g h w a y s t h r u t h e H o n o r a b l eJoseph Em i l i o Agu ina ldo Abaya and Hono rab le Roge l i o L . S i ngson ,r e s p e c t i v e l y, h a v e i n v i t e d t h e a t t e n L i o n o f t h e C o u r t r e g a r d i n g t h eo n g o i n g s e v e r a l u r g e n t p r o j e c t s t h a t i n v o l v e r i g h t - o f - w a y i s s u e s .C o r o l l a r y t o t h e s e u n d e r t a k i n g s , t h e y r e q u e s t e d t h a t , o n c e a g a i n ,a l l j u d g e s o f t h e t r i a l c o u r t s m u s t b e r e m i n d e d o f t h e j u d i c i o u si m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f a d m i n i s t r a t i v e i s s u a n c e s r e l a t i v e t o t h ep roh ib i t i on on t he i s suance o f t empo ra r y r es t r a i n i ng o rde rs (TROs)a n d w r i t s o f p r e l i m i n a r y i n j u n c t i o n i n v o l v i n g s u c h g o v e r n m e n tinfrastrucL%tr e projects.

I n A d m i n i s t r a t i v e C i r c u l a r N o . 7 - 9 9 d a t e d J u n e 2 5 , 1 9 9 9 ,t h e C o u r t e n j o i n e d j u d g e s t o e x e r c i s e u t m o s t c a u t i o n , p r u d e n c e ,a n d j u d i c i o u s n e s s i n t h e i s s u a n c e o f T R O s a n d w r i t s o fp r e l i m i n a r y i n j u n c t i o n . P e r t i n e n t p o r t i o n s o f t h e s a i d i s s u a n c e i she reby quo ted as f o l l ows :

D e s p i t e w e l l - e n t r e n c h e d j u r i s p r u d e n c e a n dci rcu lars regard ing exerc ise of jud ic iousness and care inthe i ssuance o f tempora ry res t ra in ing o rders (TRO) o rg r a n t w r i t s o f p r e l i m i n a r y i n j u n c t i o n , r e p o r t s o rc o m p l a i n t s o n a b u s e s c o m m i t t e d b y t r i a l j u d g e s i nconnect ion therewi th pers is t . Some even in t imated thati r r e g u l a r i t i e s , i n c l u d i n g c o r r u p t i o n , m i g h t h a v ei n fl u e n c e d t h e i s s u a n c e o f t h e T R O o r t h e w r i t o fpre l iminary in junct ion.

No less than ther e q u e s t e d t h i s C o u r t

President of the Phi l ipp ines hast o i s s u e a c i r c u l a r r e m i n d i n g

j u d g e s t o r e s p e c t P. D . N o . 1 8 1 8 , w h i c h p r o h i b i t s t h eissuance of TROs in cases involv ing implementat ion ofg o v e r n m e n t i n f r a s t r u c t u r e p r o j e c t s . T h e O f fi c e o f t h ePres iden t has l i kew ise b rough t to the a t ten t ion o f th i sCourt orders of judges re leasing imported ar t ic les unders e i z u r e a n d f o r f e i t u r e p r o c e e d i n g s b y t h e B u r e a u o fCustoms.

J u d q e s a r e t h u s e n j o i n e d t o o b s e r v e u t m o s tc a u t i o n , p r u d e n c e a n d j u d i c i o u s n e s s i n t h ei s s u a n c e o f " T R O a n d i n t h e q r a n t o i " w r i t s O fpre l iminar~ in iunct ion to avo id an~ suspic ion thati t s i s s u a n c e o r q r a n t w a s f o r c o n s i d e r a t i o n o t h e rthan the str ict meri ts of the case,

J u d g e s s h o u l d b e a r i n m i n d t h a t i n G a r c i a v .B u r g o s ( 2 9 1 S C R A 5 4 6 , 5 7 1 - 5 7 2 [ 1 9 9 8 ] ) , t h i s C o u r texplicit ly stated:

Sec t ion 1 o f P.D . 1818 d i s t i nc t l y p rov ides tha t" l n ]o cou r t i n the Ph i l i pp ines sha l l have ju r i sd i c t i on toi ssue any res t ra in ing o rde r, p re l im ina ry i n junc t ion , o rpre l iminary mandatory in junct ion in any case, d ispute,or controversy involv ing an inf rastructure pro ject x x xo f t h e g o v e r n m e n t , x x x t o p r o h i b i t a m y p e r s o n o rpe rsons , en t i t y o r government o ffic ia l f rom p roceed ingw i th o r con t inu ing the execu t ion o r imp lemen ta t i on o fany such p ro jec t , x x x o r pu rsu ing any law fu l ac t i v i t yn e c e s s a r y f o r s u c h e x e c u t i o n , i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o ropera t i on . " A t the r i sk o f be ing repe t i t i ous , we s t resst h a t t h e f o r e g o i n g s t a t u t o r y p r o v i s i o n e x p r e s s l ydepr ives courts of jur isd ic t ion to issue in junct ion wr i tsa g a i n s t t h e i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o r e x e c u t i o n o f a ninf rastructure pro ject .

T h e i r a t t e n t i o n i s f u r t h e r i n v i t e d t o C i r c u l a r N o .6 8 - 9 4 , i s s u e d o n 3 N o v e m b e r 1 9 9 4 b y t h e O C A O I CDepu ty Cour t Admin is t ra to r Reyna ldo L . Suarez , on thes u b j e c t " S t r i c t O b s e r v a n c e o f S e c t i o n 1 o f P. D . 1 8 1 8

E n v i s i o n e d b y C i r c u l a r N o . 1 3 - 9 3 d a t e d M a r c h 5 , 1 9 9 3 ,a n d C i r c u l a r N o . 2 0 - 9 2 d a t e d M a r c h 2 4 , 1 9 9 2 . "

F i n a l l y, j u d g e s s h o u l d n e v e r f o r g e t w h a t t h e C o u r tc a t e g o r i c a l l y d e c l a r e d i n M i n o s v. N a t i v i d a d ( 2 1 3 S C R A7 3 4 , 7 4 2 [ i 9 9 2 ] ) t h a t " [ b ] y e x p r e s s p r o v i s i o n o f l a w ,a m p l y s u p p o r t e d b y w e l l - s e t t l e d j u r i s p r u d e n c e , t h eC o l l e c t o r o f C u s t o m s h a s e x c l u s i v e j u r i s d i c t i o n o v e rs e i z u r e a n d f o r f e i t u r e p r o c e e d i n g s , a n d r e g u l a r c o u r t sc a n n o t i n t e r f e r e w i t h h i s e x e r c i s e t h e r e o f o r s t i fl e o r p u ti t t o naugh t . (Emphas i s supp l i ed )

Subsequen t l y, t he same p rosc r i p t i on on t he i s suance o f TROsa n d w r i t s o f p r e l i m i n a r y i n j u n c t i o n w a s f u r t h e r r e i t e r a t e d i nA d m i n i s t r a t i v e C i r c u l a r N o . 1 1 - 2 0 0 0 d a t e d N o v e m b e r 1 3 ,2 0 0 0 , i n v i e w o f t h e e n a c t m e n t o f R e p u b l i c A c t N o . 8 9 7 5 , a l s ok n o w n a s " A n A c t t o E n s u r e t h e E x p e d i t i o u s I m p l e m e n t a t i o n a n dC o m p l e t i o n o f G o v e r n m e n t I n f r a s t r u c t u r e P r o j e c t s b y P r o h i b i t i n gL o w e r C o u r t s f r o m I s s u i n g Te m p o r a r y R e s t r a i n i n g O r d e r s ,P r e l i m i n a r y I n j u n c t i o n s o r P r e l i m i n a r y M a n d a t o r y I n j u n c t i o n s ,P r o v i d i n g P e n a l t i e s f o r V i o l a t i o n s T h e r e o f , a n d f o r O t h e rPu rposes . " Sec t i on 3 o f t he Ac t quo ted t he re i n r eads as f o l l ows :

S E C . 3 . P r o h i b i t i o n o n t h e I s s u a n c e o f Te m p o r a r yR e s t r a i n i n g O r d e r s , P r e l i m i n a r y I n j u r ~ c t i o n s a n dPre l im ina ry Manda to r y I n j u rm t f ons . - No Cou r t , excep t t heS u p r e m e C o u r t , s h a l l i s s u e a n y t e m p o r a r y r e s t r a i n i n go r d e r , p r e l i m i n a r y i n j u n c t i o n o r p r e l i m i n a r y m a n d a t o r yi n j u n c t i o n a g a i n s t t h e g o v e r n m e n t , o r a n y o f i t ss u b d i v i s i o n s , o f fi c i a l s o r a n y p e r s o n o r e n t i t y , w h e t h e rp u b l i c o r p r i v a t e , a c t i n g u n d e r t h e g o v e r n m e n t ' sd i r e c t i o n , t o r e s t r a i n , p r o h i b i t o r c o m p e l t h e f o l l o w i n gacts:

(a} A c q u i s i t i o n , c l e a r a n c e a n d d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h er i g h t - o f - w a y a n d / o r s i t e o r l o c a t i o n o f a n yna t i ona l gove rnmen t p ro j ec t ;

{b) B i d d i n g o r a w a r d i n g o f c o n t r a c t / p r o j e c t o f t h en a t i o n a l g o v e r n m e n t a s d e fi n e d u n d e r S e c t i o n2 hereof ;

(c) Commencemen t , p rosecu t i on , execu t i on , imp le -m e n t a t i o n , o p e r a t i o n o f a n y s u c h c o n t r a c t o rpro jec t ;

(d) T e r m i n a t i o n o r r e s c i s s i o n o f a n y s u c hc o n t a c t / p r o j e c t ; a n d

T h e u n d e r t a k i n g o r a u t h o r i z a t i o n o f a n y o t h e rl a w f u l a c t i v i t y n e c e s s a r y f o r s u c hc o n t r a c t / p r o j e c t .

T h e p r o h i b i t i o n s h a l l a p p l y i n a l l c a s e s , d i s p u t e so r c o n t r o v e r s i e s i n s t i t u t e d b y a p r i v a t e p a r t y, i n c l u d i n gb u t n o t l i m i t e d t o c a s e s fi l e d b y b i d d e r s o r t h o s ec l a i m i n g t o h a v e r i g h t s t h r o u g h s u c h b i d d e r s i n v o l v i n gs u c h c o n t r a c t / p r o j e c t . T h i s p r o h i b i t i o n s h a l l n o t a p p l yw h e n t h e m a t t e r i s o f e x t r e m e u r g e n c y i n v o l v i n g ac o n s t i t u t i o n a l i s s u e , s u c h t h a t u n l e s s a t e m p o r a r yr e s t r a i n i n g o r d e r i s i s s u e d g r a v e i n j u s t i c e a n di r r e p a r a b l e i n j u r y w i l l a r i s e . T h e a p p l i c a n t s h a l l fi l e ab o n d , i n a n a m o u n t t o b e fi x e d b y t h e c o u r t , w h i c h b o n ds h a l l a c c r u e i n f a v o r o f t h e g o v e r n m e n t i f t h e c o u r ts h o u l d fi n a l l y d e c i d e t h a t t h e a p p l i c a n t w a s n o t e n t i t l e dto the re l ie f sought .

I f a f t e r d u e h e a r i n g t h e c o u r t fi n d s t h a t t h e a w a r do f t h e c o n t r a c t i s n u l l a n d v o i d , t h e c o u r t m a y , i fa p p r o p r i a t e u n d e r t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s , a w a r d t h ec o n t r a c t t o t h e q u a l i fi e d a n d w i n n i n g b i d d e r o r o r d e r ar e b i d d i n g o f t h e s a m e , w i t h o u t p r e j u d i c e t o a n y l i a b i l i t yt h a t t h e g u i l t y p a r t y m a y i n c u r u n d e r e x i s t i n g l a w s .

H o w e v e r, d u e t o t h e n e g a t i v e r e p o r t s t h a t r e a c h e d t h e C o u r tno t on l y on t he i s suance o f TROs o r w r i t s o f p re l im ina r y i n j unc t i oni n c a s e s i n v o l v i n g g o v e r n m e n t p r o j e c t s b u t a l s o o n t h e c o m p l a i n t sa b o u t d e l a y s i n t h e d i s p o s i t i o n o f s u c h c a s e s a f t e r a T R O i sc o n v e r t e d i n t o a w r i t o f p r e l i m i n a r y i n j u n c t i o n , t h e C o u r t i s s u e dA d m i n i s t r a t i v e C i r c u l a r N o . 6 2 - 2 0 0 2 d a t e d N o v e m b e r 2 0 ,2 0 0 2 . I t r e m i n d e d a l l t r i a l c o u r t j u d g e s t o s t r i c t l y c o m p l y w i t hA d m i n i s t r a t i v e C i r c u l a r N o s . 7 - 9 9 a n d 11 - 2 0 0 0 , a n d d i r e c t e d t h e mt o s u b m i t t h e r e p o r t s o n t h e s t a t u s o f T R O s o r w r i t s o f p r e l i m i n a r yi n j unc t i on i s sued i n va r i ous cases .

L a s t l y , t h e C o u r t t h r o u g h t h e O f fi c e o f t h e C o u r tA d m i n i s t r a t o r i s s u e d O C A C i r c u l a r N o . 7 9 - 2 0 0 3 d a t e d J u n e 1 2 ,2 0 0 3 . T h e t r i a l c o u r t j u d g e s a r e o n c e a g a i n c a u t i o n e d c o n c e r n i n gt h e i m p r o v i d e n t o r i r r e g u l a r i s s u a n c e o f T R O s o r t h e g r a n t o f w r i t so f p r e l i m i n a r y i n j u n c t i o n . T h e y a r e r e m i n d e d t o b e a w a r e o f t h ec a s e s w h e r e t h e i s s u a n c e o f t e m p o r a r y r e s t r a J 2 a i n g o r d e r o r t h eg r a n t o f p r e l i m i n a r y i n j u n c t i o n i s p r o p e r , a s w e l l a s t h e c a s e sw h e r e t h e y a r e n o t i n c l u d i n g c a s e s c o n c e r n i n g g o v e r n m e n ti n f r as t r uc tu re p ro j ec t s .

I n v i e w o f a l l t h e f o r e g o i n g , a l l c o n c e r n e d a r e h e r e b yEXHORTED to CONTINUOUSLY OBSERVE and IMPLEMENT theabovement ioned adminis t rat ive issuances of the Court to ensurethat a l l cases involv ing government in f rast ructure pro jects can beresolved in a speedy and t imely manner.

Strict compliance is hereby enjoined

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