Crisostomo B. Aquino vs. Municipality of Malay, Aklan

IN THE EXERCISE OF POLICE POWER AND THE GENERAL WELFARE CLAUSE,
PROPERTY RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUALS MAY BE SUBJECTED TO RESTRAINTS AND

BURDENS IN ORDER TO FULFIL THE OBJECTIVES OF THE GOVERNMENT.
Crisostomo B. Aquino vs. Municipality Of Malay, Aklan
G.R. No. 211356; September 29, 2014
Presbitero J. Velasco, Jr.
FACTS:
In a Petition for Review on Certiorari under Rule 45, petitioner Crisostomo Aquino, the president
and chief executive officer of Boracay Island West Cove, assailed the decisions of the
Municipality of Malay, Aklan for denying his application for zoning compliance and issuing
demolition closure and demolition order and the CA for denying his petition for certiorari for
being the improper remedy.
Petitioners application for zoning compliance and building permit covering the construction of
an additional three-storey hotel over a parcel of land covered by a Forest Land Use Agreement
for Tourism Purposes (FLAgT) were denied by the Municipal Zoning Administrator on the ground
that the proposed construction site was within the "no build zone" demarcated in a Municipal
Ordinance. Thereafter, the respondent issued a 1) Cease and Desist Order enjoining the
expansion of the resort, and 2) EO No. 10 ordering the closure and demolition of Boracay West
Coves hotel. EO 10 was partially implemented on June 10, 2011. Also, respondents demolished
the improvements introduced by Boracay West Cove.
Petitioner alleged that the order was issued and executed with grave abuse of discretion. He
argued that judicial proceedings should first be conducted before the respondent mayor could
order the demolition of the companys establishment.
On the other hand, respondents argued that the demolition needed no court order because the
municipal mayor has the express power under the Local Government Code (LGC) to order the
removal of illegally constructed buildings.
ISSUES:
1. Whether or not the procedural due process (of due notice and hearing) was complied
with.
2. Whether or not judicial proceedings should first be conducted before the respondent
mayor could order the demolition of the companys establishment.
RULING:
1. Yes, the procedural due process (of due notice and hearing) was complied with.
First, basic is the rule that public officers enjoy the presumption of regularity in the performance
of their duties. The burden is on the petitioner herein to prove that Boracay West Cove was
deprived of the opportunity to be heard before EO 10 was issued. Regrettably, copies of the
Cease and Desist Order issued by the LGU and of the assailed EO 10 itself were never
attached to the petition before this Court, which documents could have readily shed light on
whether or not petitioner has been accorded the 10-day grace period provided in Section 10 of
the Ordinance. In view of this fact, the presumption of regularity must be sustained.
Second, as quoted by petitioner in his petition before the CA, the assailed EO 10 states that
petitioner received notices from the municipality government on March 7 and 28, 2011, requiring
Boracay West Cove to comply with the zoning ordinance and yet it failed to do so. If such was
the case, the grace period can be deemed observed and the establishment was already ripe for
closure and demolition by the time EO 10 was issued in June.
2. No, petitioners right to due process was not violated for lack of judicial proceedings prior
to the issuance of demolition order.
The government may enact legislation that may interfere with personal liberty, property, lawful
businesses and occupations to promote the general welfare. One such piece of legislation is the
Local Government Code (LGC), which authorizes city and municipal governments, acting
through their local chief executives, to issue demolition orders and to hear issues involving
property rights of individuals and to come out with an effective order or resolution thereon.
Pertinent herein is Sec. 444 (b)(3)(vi) of the LGC, which empowered the mayor to order the
closure and removal of illegally constructed establishments for failing to secure the necessary
permits.
Though the court agreed with Petitioners contention that, under the LGC, the Sanggunian does
not have the power to authorize the extrajudicial condemnation and destruction of a nuisance
per accidens, still the SC ruled that the LGU may nevertheless properly order the hotels
demolition without due hearing thereon in a tribunal, because in the exercise of police power
and the general welfare clause provided in the Constitution, property rights of individuals may be
subjected to restraints and burdens in order to fulfil the objectives of the government.
Hence, the right to due process was satisfied in the case at bar.

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IN THE EXERCISE OF POLICE POWER AND THE GENERAL WELFARE CLAUSE,

PROPERTY RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUALS MAY BE SUBJECTED TO RESTRAINTS AND

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