EN BANC

[G.R. No. 44896. July 31, 1936.]

RODOLFO A. SCHNECKENBURGER, Petitioner, v. MANUEL V. MORAN, Judge of First

Instance of Manila, Respondent.

Cardenas & Casal for Petitioner.

Solicitor-General Hilado for Respondent.

SYLLABUS

1. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW; IN GENERAL. The inauguration of the Philippine Commonwealth on

November 15, 1935, has brought about a fundamental change in the political and legal status of
the Philippines.

2. ID.; ID.; CONSTITUTION OF THE PHILIPPINES IS FUNDAMENTAL LAW OF THE LAND. The
Constitution of the Philippines has become the supreme law of the land since the inauguration of
the Philippine Commonwealth.

3. COURTS; SUPREME COURT; JURISDICTION; ORIGINAL. The Constitution provides that the
original jurisdiction of this court "shall include all cases affecting ambassadors, other public
ministers and consuls."
cralaw virtua 1aw lib rary

4. ID.; ID.; ID.; NOT EXCLUSIVE. The original jurisdiction conferred upon this court by the
Constitution over cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls, is not
exclusive.

5. ID.; FIRST INSTANCE; JURISDICTION; ORIGINAL. Prior to the inauguration of the

Commonwealth, Courts of First Instance were vested with original jurisdiction over all criminal
cases in which a penalty of more than six months imprisonment or a fine exceeding one hundred
dollars might be imposed. Such jurisdiction included the trial of criminal actions brought against
consuls.

6. ID.; ID.; ID.; NOT EXCLUSIVE. The original jurisdiction granted to the Courts of First
Instance to try criminal cases was not made exclusive by any law in force prior to the inauguration
of the Commonwealth, and having reached the conclusion that the jurisdiction conferred upon this
court by the Constitution over cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls, is
not an exclusive jurisdiction, the laws in force at the time of the adoption of the Constitution,
granting the Courts of First Instance jurisdiction in such cases, are not inconsistent with the
Constitution, and must be deemed to remain operative and in force.

7. AMBASSADORS AND CONSULS; CONSULS; PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES. It is well settled

that a consul is not entitled to the privileges and immunities of an ambassador or minister, but is
subject to the laws and regulations of the country to which he is accredited. (Ex parte Baiz, 135 U.
S., 403; 34 Law. ed., 222.)

8. ID.; ID.; EXEMPTION FROM CRIMINAL PROSECUTION. A consul is not exempt from criminal
prosecution for violations of the laws of the country where he resides. (U. S. v. Ravaria, 2 Dall.;
297; 1 Law. ed., 388; Wheatons International Law [2d ed. ], 423.)
 DECISION

ABAD SANTOS, J.:

The petitioner was duly accredited honorary consul of Uruguay at Manila, Philippine Islands on
June 11, 1934. He was subsequently charged in the Court of First Instance of Manila with the
crime of falsification of a private document. He objected to the jurisdiction of the court on the
ground that both under the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the
Philippines the court below had no jurisdiction to try him. His objection having been overruled, he
filed this petition for a writ of prohibition with a view to preventing the Court of First Instance of
Manila from taking cognizance of the criminal action filed against him.

In support of this petition counsel for the petitioner contend (1) That the Court of First Instance of
Manila is without jurisdiction to try the case filed against the petitioner for the reason that under
Article III, section 2, of the Constitution of the United States, the Supreme Court of the United
States has original jurisdiction in all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and
consuls, and such jurisdiction excludes the courts of the Philippines; and (2) that even under the
Constitution of the Philippines original jurisdiction over cases affecting ambassadors, other public
ministers, and consuls, is conferred exclusively upon the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

This case involves no question of diplomatic immunity. It is well settled that a consul is not entitled
to the privileges and immunities of an ambassador or minister, but is subject to the laws and
regulations of the country to which he is accredited. (Ex parte Baiz, 135 U. S., 403; 34 Law. ed.,
222.) A consul is not exempt from criminal prosecution for violations of the laws of the country
where he resides. (U. S. v. Ravara, 2 Dall., 297; 1 Law. ed., 388; Wheatons International Law [2d
ed. ], 423.) The substantial question raised in this case is one of jurisdiction.

1. We find no merit in the contention that Article III, section 2, of the Constitution of the United
States governs this case. We do not deem it necessary to discuss the question whether the
constitutional provision relied upon by the petitioner extended ex propio vigore over the
Philippines. Suffice it to say that the inauguration of the Philippines. Suffice it to say that the
inauguration of the Philippine Commonwealth on November 15, 1935, has brought about a
fundamental change in the political and legal status of the Philippines. On the date mentioned the
Constitution of the Philippines went into full force and effect. This Constitution is the supreme law
of the land. Not only the members of this court but all other officers, legislative, executive and
judicial, of the Government of the Commonwealth, are bound by oath to support the Constitution.
(Article XIII, section 2.) This court owes its own existence to that great instrument, and derives all
its powers therefrom. In the exercise of its powers and jurisdiction, this court is bound by the
provisions of the Constitution. The Constitution provides that the original jurisdiction of this court
"shall include all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls." In deciding the
instant case this court cannot go beyond this constitutional provision.

2. It remains to consider whether the original jurisdiction thus conferred upon this court by the
Constitution over cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls, is exclusive.
The Constitution does not define the jurisdiction of this court in specific terms, but merely provides
that "the Supreme Court shall have such original and appellate jurisdiction as may be possessed
and exercised by the Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands at the time of the adoption of this
Constitution." It then goes on to provide that the original jurisdiction of this court "shall include all
cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls." cralaw virtua 1aw lib rary

In the light of the constitutional provisions above adverted to, the question arises whether the
original jurisdiction possessed and exercised by the Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands at the
time of the adoption of the Constitution was exclusive.

The original jurisdiction possessed and exercised by the Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands at
the time of the adoption of the Constitution was derived from section 17 of Act No. 136, which
reads as follows: "The Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction to issue writs of
mandamus, certiorari, prohibition, habeas corpus, and quo warranto in the cases and in the
manner prescribed in the Code of Civil Procedure, and to hear and determine the controversies
thus brought before it, and in other cases provided by law." Jurisdiction to issue writs of quo
warranto, certiorari, mandamus, prohibition, and habeas corpus was also conferred on the Courts
of First Instance by the Code of Civil Procedure. (Act No. 190, secs. 197, 217, 222, 226, and 525.)
It results that the original jurisdiction possessed and exercised by the Supreme Court of the
Philippine Islands at the time of the adoption of the Constitution was not exclusive of, but
concurrent with, that of the Courts of First Instance. Inasmuch as this is the same original
jurisdiction vested in this court by the Constitution and made to include all cases affecting
ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls, it follows that the jurisdiction of this court over
such cases is not exclusive.

The conclusion we have reached upon this branch of the case finds support in the pertinent
decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Constitution of the United States
provides that the Supreme Court shall have "original jurisdiction" in all cases affecting
ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls. In construing this constitutional provision, the
Supreme Court of the United States held that the "original jurisdiction" thus conferred upon the
Supreme Court by the Constitution was not an exclusive jurisdiction, and that such grant of
original jurisdiction did not prevent Congress from conferring original jurisdiction in cases affecting
consuls on the subordinate courts of the Union. (U. S. v. Ravara, supra; Bors v. Preston, 111 U.S.,
252; 28 Law. ed., 419.) .

3. The laws in force in the Philippines prior to the inauguration of the Commonwealth conferred
upon the Courts of First Instance original jurisdiction in all criminal cases to which a penalty of
more than six months imprisonment or a fine exceeding one hundred dollars might be imposed.
(Act No. 136, sec. 56.) Such jurisdiction included the trial of criminal actions brought against
consuls for, as we have already indicated, consuls, not being entitled to the privileges and
immunities of ambassadors or ministers, are subject to the laws and regulations of the country
where they reside. By Article XV, section 2, of the Constitution, all laws of the Philippine Islands in
force at the time of the adoption of the Constitution were to continue in force until the
inauguration of the Commonwealth; thereafter, they were to remain operative, unless inconsistent
with the Constitution, until amended, altered, modified, or repealed by the National Assembly. The
original jurisdiction granted to the Courts of First Instance to try criminal cases was not made
exclusive by any law in force prior to the inauguration of the Commonwealth, and having reached
the conclusion that the jurisdiction conferred upon this court by the Constitution over cases
affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls, is not an exclusive jurisdiction in such
cases, are not inconsistent with the Constitution, and must be deemed to remain operative and in
force, subject to the power of the National Assembly to amend, alter, modify, or repeal the same.
(Asiatic P. Co. v. Insular Collector of Customs, U.S. Supreme Court [Law. ed. ], Adv. Ops., vol. 80,
No. 12, pp. 620, 623.) .

We conclude, therefore, that the Court of First Instance of Manila has jurisdiction to try the
petitioner, and that the petition for a writ of prohibition must be denied. So ordered.

Avancea, C.J., Villa-Real, Imperial, Diaz and Recto, JJ., concur.

Separate Opinions

LAUREL, J., concurring: chanrob1es vi rt ual 1aw li bra ry

In my humble opinion, there are three reasons why the jurisdiction of this court over the petitioner
in the instant case is concurrent and not exclusive. The strictly legal reason is set forth in the
preceding illuminating opinion. The other reasons are (a) historical and based on what I consider is
the (b) theory upon which the grant of legislative authority under our Constitution is predicated.

(a) As the provision in our Constitution regarding jurisdiction in cases affecting ambassadors, other
public ministers, and consuls, has been taken from the Constitution of the United States,
considerable light would be gained by an examination of the history and interpretation thereof in
the United States.

The fifth resolution of the New Jersey plan (Paterson resolutions of June 15, 1787) gave the
Supreme Court of the United States, the only national court under the plan, authority to hear and
determine "by way of appeal, in the dernier resort . . . all cases touching the rights of
ambassadors . . . ." This clause, however, was not approved. On July 18, the Convention of 1787
voted an extraordinarily broad jurisdiction to the Supreme Court extending "to cases arising under
laws passed by the general legislature, and to such other questions as involve the national peace
and harmony." This general proposition was considerably narrowed by Randolph in his draft of May
29 which, however, did not mention anything about ambassadors, other public ministers and
consuls. But the Committee of Detail, through Rutledge, reported on August 6 as follows: "Article
XI, Section 3. The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court shall extend . . . to all cases affecting
ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls; . . . In . . . cases affecting ambassadors, other
public ministers and consuls, . . . this jurisdiction shall be original . . . ." On September 12, the
Committee on Style reported the provision as follows: "Article III, Section 2. The judicial power
shall extend . . . to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls . . . In (all)
cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls . . . the Supreme Court shall have
original jurisdiction." This provision was approved in the convention with hardly any amendment or
debate and is now found in clause 2, section 2 of Article III of the Constitution of the United
States. (The Constitution and the Courts, Article on "Growth of the Constitution", by William M.
Meigs, New York, 1924, vol. I, pp. 228, 229. See also Farrand, Records of the Federal Convention
of 1787, Yale University Press, 1934, 3 vols.; Warren, The Making of the Constitution, Boston,
1928, pp. 534-537.) .

The word "original", however, was early interpreted as not exclusive. Two years after the adoption
of the Federal Constitution, or in 1789, the First Judiciary Act (Act of September 24, 1789, I Stat.,
c. 20, 687) was approved by the first Congress creating the United States District and Circuit
Courts which were nisi prius courts, or courts of first instance which dealth with different items of
litigation. The district courts are now the only federal courts of first instance, the circuit courts
having been abolished by the Act of March 3, 1911, otherwise known as the Judicial Code. The
Judiciary Act of 1787 invested the district courts with jurisdiction, exclusively of the courts of the
several state, of all suits against consuls or vice- consuls and the Supreme Court of the United
States with original but not exclusive jurisdiction of all suits in which a consul or vice- consul shall
be a party. By the passage of the Act of February 18, 1875 (18 Stat., 470, c. 137), the clause
giving the federal courts exclusive jurisdiction was repealed and, since then, state courts have had
concurrent jurisdiction with the federal courts over civil or criminal proceedings against a consul or
vice-consul. At the present time, the federal courts exercise exclusive jurisdiction "of suits or
proceedings against ambassadors or other public ministers, or their domestics or domestic
servants, as a court of law can have consistently with the law of nations; and original, but not
exclusive, jurisdiction, of all suits brought by ambassadors, or other public ministers, or in which a
consul or vice-consul is a party." (Act of March 3, 1911, 36 Stat., 1156, reenacting sec. 687 of the
Act of September 24, 1789; 28 U.S.C.A., sec. 341; Hopkins Federal Judicial Code, 4th ed., by
Babbit, 1934, sec. 24, par. 18.)

The Judiciary Act of 1789 was one of the early and most satisfactory acts passed by the Congress
of the United States. It has remained essentially unchanged for more than 145 years. It was
prepared chiefly by Oliver Elisworth of Connecticut (1 Ann. Cong., 18, April 7, 1789) one of the
ablest jurists in the Constitutional Convention, who was later Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of
the United States (1796-1800). It is interesting to note that 10 of the 18 senators and 8 of the
members of the House of the first Congress had been among the 55 delegates who actually
attended the Convention that adopted the federal Constitution (Warren, Congress, the Constitution
and the Supreme Court [Boston, 1935], p. 99). When, therefore, the first Congress approved the
Judiciary Act of 1789 vesting in the Supreme Court original but not exclusive jurisdiction of all
suits in which a consul or a vice-consul shall be a party, express legislative interpretation as to the
meaning of the word "original" as not being exclusive was definitely made and this interpretation
has never been repudiated. As stated by the Supreme Court of the United States in Ames v.
Kansas ([1884], 111 U. S., 449; 4 S. Ct., 437; 28 Law. ed., 482): jgc:chan roble s.com.p h

"In view of the practical construction put on this provision of the Constitution by Congress, at the
very moment of the organization of the government, and of the significant fact that, from 1789
until now, no court of the United States has ever in its actual adjudications determined to the
contrary, we are unable to say that it is not within the power of Congress to grant to the inferior
courts of the United States jurisdiction in cases where the Supreme Court has been vested by the
Constitution with original jurisdiction. It rests with the legislative department of the government to
say to what extent such grants shall be made, and it may safely be assumed that nothing will ever
be done to encroach upon the high privileges of those for whose protection the constitutional
provision was intended. At any rate, we are unwilling to say that the power to make the grant
does not exist."cralaw virt ua1aw li bra ry

Dicta in some earlier cases seem to hold that the word "original" means "exclusive" and as
observed by Justice Field in United States v. Louisiana ([1887], 123 U. S., 36; 8 S. Ct., 17; 31
Law. ed., 69), the question has given rise to some differences of opinion among the earlier
members of the Supreme Court of the United States. (See, for instance, dissenting opinion of
Iredell, J., in U.S. v. Ravara [1793], 2 Dall., 297; 1 Law. ed., 388.) Reliance was had on more or
less general expressions made by Chief Justice Marshall in the case of Marbury v. Madison
([1803], 1 Cranch, 137; 2 Law. ed., 60), where it was said: jgc:chan roble s.com. ph

"If congress remains it liberty to give this court appellate jurisdiction, where the constitution has
declared their jurisdiction shall be original; and original jurisdiction where the constitution has
declared it shall be appellate; the distribution of jurisdiction, made in the constitution, is form
without substance." But Chief Justice Marshall who penned the decision in this case in 1803 had
occasion later, in 1821, to explain the meaning and extent of the pronouncements made in the
Marbury case. He said: jgc:chanroble s.com. ph

"In the case of Marbury v. Madison ([1803], 1 Cranch [U. S. ], 137, 172; 2 Law. ed., 60), the
single question before the court, so far as that case can be applied to this, was, whether the
legislature could give this court original jurisdiction in a case in which the Constitution had clearly
not given it, and in which no doubt respecting the construction of the article could possibly be
raised. The court decided, and we think very properly, that the legislature could not give original
jurisdiction in such a case. But, in the reasoning of the court in support of this decision, some
expressions are used which go far beyond it. The counsel for Marbury had insisted on the unlimited
discretion of the legislature in the apportionment of the judicial power; and it is against this
argument that the reasoning of the court is directed. They say that, if such had been the intention
of the article, it would certainly have been useless to proceed farther than to define the judicial
power, and the tribunals in which it should be vested. The court says, that such a construction
would render the clause, dividing the jurisdiction of the court into original and appellate, totally
useless; that affirmative words are often, in their operation, negative of other objects than those
which are affirmed; and, in this case (in the case of Marbury v. Madison), a negative or exclusive
sense must be given to them, or they have no operation at all. It cannot be presumed, adds the
court, that any clause in the Constitution is intended to be without effect; and, therefore, such a
construction is inadmissible, unless the words require it. The whole reasoning of the court
proceeds upon the idea that the affirmative words of the clause giving one sort of jurisdiction,
must imply a negative of any other sort of jurisdiction, because otherwise the words would be
totally inoperative, and this reasoning is advanced in a case to which it was strictly applicable. If in
that case original jurisdiction could have been exercised, the clause under consideration would
have been entirely useless. Having such cases only in its view, the court lays down a principle
which is generally correct, in terms much broader than the decision, and not only much broader
than the reasoning with which that decision is supported, but in some instances contradictory to its
principle. The reasoning sustains the negative operation of the words in that case because
otherwise the clause would have no meaning whatever, and because such operation was
necessary to give effect to the intention of the article. The effort now made is, to apply the
conclusion to which the court was conducted by that reasoning in the particular case, to one in
which the words have their full operation when understood affirmatively, and in which the
negative, or exclusive sense, is to be so used as to defeat some of the great objects of the article.
To this construction the court cannot give its assent. The general expressions in the case of
Marbury v. Madison must be understood with the limitations which are given to them in this
opinion; limitations which in no degree affect the decision in that case, or the tenor of its
reasoning." (Cohens v. Virginia [1821], 6 Wheat., 264, 400; 5 Law. ed., 257.)

What the Supreme Court in the case of Marbury v. Madison held then was that Congress could not
extend its original jurisdiction beyond the cases expressly mentioned in the Constitution, the rule
of construction being that affirmative words of the Constitution declaring in what cases the
Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction must be construed negatively as to all other cases.
(See Ex parte Vallandigham [1864], 1 Wall., 243, 252; 17 Law. ed., 589; Martin v. Hunters
Lessee [1816], 1 Wheat., 305, 330; 4 Law. ed., 97; U. S. v. Haynes (D. C. Mass., 1887], 29 Fed.,
691, 696.) That was all.

It should be observed that Chief Justice Marshall concurred in the opinion rendered in the case of
Davis v. Packard ([1833], 7 Pet., 276; 8 Law. ed., 684). In this case the jurisdiction of the state
court of New York over a civil suit against a foreign consul was denied solely on the ground that
jurisdiction had been conferred in such a case upon the district courts of the United States
exclusively of the state courts. Such a ground, says Justice Harlan in Bors v. Preston ([1884], 111
U. S., 252; 4 S. Ct., 407; 28 Law. ed., 419), would probably not have been given had it been
believed that the grant of original jurisdiction to the Supreme Court deprived Congress of the
power to confer concurrent original jurisdiction in such cases upon subordinate courts of the Union,
concluding that the decision in the case "may be regarded as an affirmance of the constitutionality
of the Act of 1789, giving original jurisdiction in such cases, also, to District Courts of the United
States." Of the seven justices who concurred in the judgment in the case of Davis, five
participated in the decision of Osborn v. Bank of the United States ([1824], 9 Wheat., 738; 6 Law.
ed., 204), also penned by Chief Justice Marshall and relied upon as authority together with
Marbury v. Madison, supra.

The rule enunciated in Bors v. Preston, supra, is the one followed in the United States. The
question involved in that case was whether the Circuit Court then existing had jurisdiction under
the Constitution and laws of the United States to hear and determine any suit whatever against
the consul of a foreign government. Justice Harlan said: jgc:chanrob les.c om.ph

"The Constitution declares that The judicial power of the United States shall extend . . . to all
cases affecting ambassadors or other public ministers and consuls; to controversies between
citizens of a state and foreign citizens or subjects; that In all cases affecting ambassadors, other
public ministers and consuls, . . . the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction; and that in all
other cases previously mentioned in the same clause The Supreme Court shall have appellate
jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions and under such regulations as the
Congress shall make. The Judiciary Act of 1789 invested the District Courts of the United States
with jurisdiction, exclusively of the courts of the several States, of all suits against consuls or vice-
consuls, except for offenses of a certain character; this court, with Original, but not exclusive,
jurisdiction of all suits . . . in which a consul or vice-consul shall be a party; and the circuit courts
with jurisdiction of civil suits in which an alien is a party. (1 Stat. at L., 76-80.) In this act we have
an affirmance, by the first Congress many of whose members participated in the Convention
which adopted the Constitution and were, therefore, conversant with the purposes of its framers
of the principle that the original jurisdiction of this court of cases in which a consul or vice-consul
is a party, is not necessarily exclusive, and that the subordinate courts of the Union may be
invested with jurisdiction of cases affecting such representatives of foreign governments. On a
question of constitutional construction, this fact is entitled to great weight." cralaw virtua1aw l ibra ry

In this case of Bors, Justice Harlan adopted the view entertained by Chief Justice Taney in the
earlier case of Gittings v. Crawford (C. C. Md., 1838; Taneys Dec., 1, 10). In that case of Gittings,
it was held that neither public policy nor convenience would justify the Supreme Court in implying
that Congress is prohibited from giving original jurisdiction in cases affecting consuls to the inferior
judicial tribunals of the United States. Chief Justice Taney said: jgc:chan roble s.com.p h

"If the arrangement and classification of the subjects of jurisdiction into appellate and original, as
respects the Supreme Court, do not exclude that tribunal from appellate power in the cases where
original jurisdiction is granted, can it be right, from the same clause, to imply words of exclusion
as respects other courts whose jurisdiction is not there limited or prescribed, but left for the future
regulation of Congress? The true rule in this case is, I think, the rule which is constantly applied to
ordinary acts of legislation, in which the grant of jurisdiction over a certain subject-matter to one
court, does not, of itself, imply that that jurisdiction is to be exclusive. In the clause in question,
there is nothing but mere affirmative words of grant, and none that import a design to exclude the
subordinate jurisdiction of other courts of the United States on the same subject-matter." (See
also U.S. v. Ravara [1793], 2 Dall., 297; 1 Law. ed., 388; United States v. Louisiana [1887], 123
U. S., 36; 8 S. Ct., 17; 31 Law. ed., 69; Ex parte Baiz [1890], 135 U. S., 403; 10 S. Ct., 854; 34
Law. ed., 222, denying writ of prohibition Hollander v. Baiz [D. C. N. Y., 1890]; 41 Fed., 732;
Iasigi v. Van de Carr [1897], 166 U. S., 391; 17 S. Ct., 595; 41 Law. ed., 1045; Graham v.
Strucken [C. C. N. Y., 1857]; 4 Blatchf., 58; Lorway v. Lousada [D. C. Mass., 1866]; Fed. Cas.,
No. 8517; St. Lukes Hospital v. Barclay [C. C. N. Y., 1855]; 3 Blatchf., 259; State of Texas v.
Lewis [C. C. Tex., 1882], 14 Fed., 65; State of Alabama v. Wolffe [C. C. Ala., 1883], 18 Fed., 836,
837; Pooley v. Luco [D. C. Cal., 1896], 76 Fed., 146.)

It is interesting to note that in the case of St. Lukes Hospital v. Barclay, supra, the jurisdiction of
circuit courts exclusive of state courts over aliens, no exception being made as to those who were
consuls, was maintained. (See 1 U. S. Stat. at L., c. 20, sec. 11, pp. 78, 79.)

From the history of, and the judicial interpretation placed on, clause 2, section 2 of Article III of
the Constitution of the United States it seems clear that the word "original" in reference to the
jurisdiction of Supreme Court of the United States over cases affecting ambassadors, other public
ministers and consuls, was never intended to be exclusive as to prevent the Congress from vesting
concurrent jurisdiction over cases affecting consuls and vice-consuls in other federal courts.

It should be observed that the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 places cases affecting the official
representatives of foreign powers under the jurisdiction of the Federal Supreme Court to prevent
the public peace from being jeopardized. Since improper treatment of foreign ambassadors, other
public ministers and consuls may be a casus belli, it was thought that the federal government,
which is responsible for their treatment under international law, should itself be provided with the
means to meet the demands imposed by international duty. (Tucker, The Constitution of the
United States [1899], vol. II, 760, 772; vide, The Federalist, No. LXXXI, Ashleys Reprint [1917],
415.) Bearing in mind the distinction which international law establishes between ambassadors
and other public ministers, on the one hand, and consuls and other commercial representatives,
on the other, Congress saw it fit to provide in one case a rule different from the other, although as
far as consuls and vice-consuls are concerned, the jurisdiction of the Federal Supreme Court, as
already observed, though original is not exclusive. But in the United States, there are two judicial
systems, independent one from the other, while in the Philippines there is but one judicial system.
So that the reason in the United States for excluding certain courts the state courts from
taking cognizance of cases against foreign representatives stationed in the United States does not
obtain in the Philippines where the court of the lowest grade is as much a part of an integrated
system as the highest court.

Let us now turn our attention to our own laws as they affect the case of the petitioner.
Undoubtedly Philippine courts are not federal courts and they are not governed by the Judiciary
Acts of the United States. We have a judicial system of our own, standing outside the sphere of
the American federal system and possessing powers and exercising jurisdiction pursuant to the
provisions of our own Constitution and laws.

The jurisdiction of our courts over consuls is defined and determined by our Constitution and laws
which include applicable treaties and accepted rules of the law of nations. There are no treaties
between the United States and Uruguay exempting consuls of either country from the operation of
local criminal laws. Under the generally accepted principles of international law, declared by our
Constitution as part of the law of the nation (Art. II, sec. 3, cl. 2), consuls, vice-consuls and other
commercial representatives of foreign nations do not possess the status and can not claim the
privileges and immunities accorded to ambassadors and ministers. (Wheaton, International Law,
sec. 249; I Kent, Commentaries, 44; Story on the Constitution, sec. 1660; Mathews, The American
Constitutional System [1932], 204, 205; Gittings v. Crawford, C. C. Md., 1838; Taneys Dec., 1;
Wilcox v. Luco, 118 Cal., 639; 45 Pac., 676; 2 C. J., 1305; 9 R. C. L., 161.) The only provisions
touching the subject to which we may refer are those found in the Constitution of the Philippines.
Let us trace the history of these provisions. The report of the Committee on the Judicial Power,
submitted on September 29, 1934, did not contain any provision regarding cases affecting
ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls. The draft of the sub-committee of seven of the
Sponsorship Committee, submitted on October 20, 1934, however, contains the following
provision:jgc: chan roble s.com.p h

"Article X, Section 2. The Supreme Court shall have such original jurisdiction as may be possessed
and exercised by the present Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands at the time of the adoption
of this Constitution, which jurisdiction shall include all cases affecting ambassadors, other foreign
ministers and consuls . . . ." The Special Committee on the Judiciary, composed principally of
Delegates Vicente J. Francisco and Norberto Romualdez, included in its report the provisions which
now appear in sections 2 and 3 of Article VIII of the Constitution. Section 2 provides: jgc:chan roble s.com.p h

"The National Assembly shall have the power to define, prescribe, and apportion the jurisdiction of
the various courts, but may not deprive the Supreme Court of its original jurisdiction over cases
affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls . . . ." And the second sentence of
section 3 provides: jg c:chan roble s.com.p h
"The original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court shall include all cases affecting ambassadors, other
public ministers and consuls." cralaw virt ua1aw lib ra ry

The provision in our Constitution in so far as it confers upon our Supreme Court "original
jurisdiction over cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls" is literally the
same as that contained in clause 2, section 2 of Article III of the United States Constitution.

In the course of the deliberations of the Constitutional Convention, some doubt was expressed
regarding the character of the grant of "original jurisdiction" to our Supreme Court. An
examination of the records of the proceedings of the Constitutional Convention show that the
framers of our Constitution were familiar with the history of, and the judicial construction placed
on, the same provision of the United States Constitution. In order to end what would have been a
protracted discussion on the subject, a member of the Special Committee on the Judiciary gave
the following information to the members of the Convention: jgc:chan rob les.com. ph

". . . Sr. Presidente, a fin de poder terminar con el Articulo 2, el Comite esta dispuesto a hacer
constar que la interpretacion que se debe dar a la ultima parte de dicho articulo es la misma
interpretacion que siempre se ha dado a semejante disposicion en la Constitucion de los Estados
Unidos." (January 16, 1935.) Without further discussion, the provision was then and there
approved.

It thus appears that the provision in question has been given a well-settled meaning in the United
States the country of its origin. It has there received definite and hitherto unaltered legislative
and judicial interpretation. And the same meaning was ascribed to it when incorporated in our own
Constitution. To paraphrase Justice Gray of the Supreme Court of the United States, we are
justified in interpreting the provision of the Constitution in the light of the principles and history
with which its framers were familiar. (United States v. Wong Kin Ark [1897], 169 U. S., 649; 18 S.
Ct., 456; 42 Law. ed., 890, cited with approval in Kepner v. United States, a case of Philippine
origin [1904]; 195 U. S., 100; 49 Law. ed., 114.)

(b) What has been said hereinabove is not unnecessary attachment to history or idolatrous
adherence to precedents. In referring to the history of this provision of our Constitution it is
realized that historical discussion while valuable is not necessarily decisive. Rationally, however,
the philosophical reason for the conclusion announced is not far seek if certain principles of
constitutional government are borne in mind. The constitution is both a grant of, and a limitation
upon, governmental powers. In the absence of clear and unequivocal restraint of legislative
authority, the power is retained by the people and is exercisable by their representatives in the
legislature. The general rule is that the legislature possesses plenary power for all purposes of civil
government. A prohibition to exercise legislative power is the exception. (Denio, C.J., in People v.
Draper, 15 N. Y., 532, 543.) These prohibitions or restrictions are found either in the language
used, or in the purposes held in view as well as the circumstances which led to the adoption of the
particular provision as part of the fundamental law. (Ex parte Lewis, 45 Tex. Crim. Rep., 1; 73 S.
W., 811; 108 Am. St. Rep., 929.) .

Subject to certain limitations, the Filipino people, through their delegates, have committed
legislative power in a most general way to the National Assembly of the nation. In other words,
the National Assembly has plenary legislative power in all matters of legislation except as limited
by the Constitution. When, therefore, the Constitution vests in the Supreme Court original
jurisdiction in cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, without specifying
the exclusive character of the grant, the National Assembly is not deprived of its authority to make
that jurisdiction concurrent. It has been said that popular government lives because of the
inexhaustible reservoir of power behind it. It is unquestionable that the mass of powers of
government is vested in the representatives of the people, and that these representatives are no
further restrained under our system than by the express language of the instrument imposing the
restraint, or by particular provisions which, by clear intendment, have that effect. (Angara v.
Electoral Commission, p. 139, ante.) What the Constitution prohibits is merely the deprivation of
the Supreme Court of its original jurisdiction over cases affecting ambassadors, other public
ministers and consuls, and while it must be admitted that original jurisdiction if made concurrent
no longer remains exclusive, it is also true that jurisdiction does not cease to be original merely
because it is concurrent.

It is also quite true that concurrent original jurisdiction in this class of cases would mean the
sharing of the Supreme Court with the most inferior courts of cases affecting ambassadors, other
public ministers and consuls such that the Supreme Court would have concurrent jurisdiction with
the lowest courts in our judicial hierarchy, the justice of the peace courts, in a petty case involving
for instance, the violation of a municipal ordinance affecting the parties just mentioned. However,
no serious objection to this result can be seen other than the misinterpreted unwillingness to share
this jurisdiction with a court pertaining to the lowest category in our judicial organization. Upon the
other hand, the fundamental reasoning would apply with equal force if the highest court of the
land is made to take cognizance exclusively of a case involving the violation of the municipal
ordinance simply because of the character of the parties affected. After alluding to the fact that
the position of consul of a foreign government is sometimes filled by a citizen of the United States
(and this is also true in the Philippines) Chief Justice Taney, in Gittings v. Crawford, supra,
observed: jgc:c han robles. com.ph

"It could hardly have been the intention of the statesmen who framed our constitution to require
that one of our citizens who had a petty claim of even less than five dollars against another citizen,
who had been clothed by some foreign government with the consular office, should be compelled
to go into the Supreme Court to have a jury summoned in order to enable him to recover it; nor
could it have been intended, that the time of that court, with all its high duties to perform, should
be taken up with the trial of every petty offense that might be committed by a consul in any part
of the United States; that consul, too, being often one of our own citizens." cralaw virtua1aw l ibra ry

Probably, the most serious objection to the interpretation herein advocated is, that considering the
actual distribution of jurisdiction between the different courts in our jurisdiction, there may be
cases where the Supreme Court may not actually exercise either original whether exclusive or
concurrent or appellate jurisdiction, notwithstanding the grant of original jurisdiction in this
class of cases to the Supreme Court. If, for instance, a criminal case is brought either in a justice
of the peace court or in a Court of First Instance against a foreign consul and no question of law is
involved, it is evident that in case of conviction, the proceedings will terminate in the Court of
Appeals and will not reach the Supreme Court. In this case, the Supreme Court will be deprived of
all jurisdiction in a case affecting a consul notwithstanding the grant thereto in the Constitution of
original jurisdiction in all cases affecting consuls. This is a situation, however, created not by the
Constitution but by existing legislation, and the remedy is in the hands of the National Assembly.
The Constitution cannot deal with with every casus omissus, and in the nature of things, must only
deal with fundamental principles, leaving the details of administration and execution to the other
branches of the government. It rests with the National Assembly to determine the inferior courts
which shall exercise concurrent original jurisdiction with the Supreme Court in cases affecting
ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, considering the nature of the offense and
irrespective of the amount of the controversy. The National Assembly may, as in the United States
(Cooley, Constitutional Law, 4th ed. [1931], sec. 4, p. 156), provide for appeal to the Supreme
Court in all cases affecting foreign diplomatic and consular representatives.

Before the approval of the Constitution, jurisdiction over consuls was exercisable by our courts.
This is more so now that the Independence Law and Constitution framed and adopted pursuant
thereto are in force. The fact that the National Assembly has not enacted any law determining
what courts of the Philippines shall exercise concurrent jurisdiction with the Supreme Court is of no
moment. This can not mean and shout not be interpreted to mean that the original jurisdiction
vested in the Supreme Court by the Constitution is not concurrent with other national courts of
inferior category.

The respondent judge of the Court of First Instance of the City of Manila having jurisdiction to take
cognizance of the criminal case brought against the petitioner, the writ of prohibition should be
denied.