Osmena v. Abaya: January 13, 2016. G.R. No. 211737

Osmena v. Abaya The Court thus declared in Heirs of Bertuldo Hinog v.
Melicor, 455 SCRA

January 13, 2016. G.R. No. 211737 460 (2005), that it will not entertain direct resort to it unless the redress
desired cannot be obtained in the appropriate courts, and exceptional and
SERGIO R. OSMEÑA III, Petitioner, vs. DEPARTMENT OF compelling circumstances, such as cases of national interest and of serious
TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS SECRETARY JOSEPH implications, justify the availment of the extraordinary remedy of writ of
EMILIO A. ABAYA, MACTAN-CEBU INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT certiorari, calling for the exercise of its primary jurisdiction.
AUTHORITY (MCIAA), THE PRE-QUALIFICATION, BIDS AND A
WARDS COMMITTEE (PBAC) FOR THE MACTAN-CEBU Mactan-Cebu International Airport is the second busiest airport in the country
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT PROJECT THROUGH ITS CHAIRMAN, after the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, handling millions of passengers
UNDERSECRETARY JOSE PERPETUO M. LOTILLA, GMR and thousands of aircraft movements every year. Opened in the mid-1960s, it
INFRASTRUCTURE, LTD. ANDMEGAWIDE CONSTRUCTION is owned by the DOTC and managed by the MCIAA.28 The multi-billion
CORPORATION, Respondents. expansion and development project for MCIA is being implemented through
the PPP program. The Government's PPP program has two objectives: (1)
Facts: increase private investment in infrastructure through solicited mode; and (2)
The Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) Project, implemented by the follow good governance practices in preparing, bidding and implementing the
DOTC, consists of the construction of a new passenger terminal with all PPP projects.29 There is no dispute then that this case is of paramount
associated infrastructure facilities, among others. After the pre-qualification national interest for it raises serious questions on the evaluation of bids by the
and assessing the financial proposals, the PBAC recommended the highest public respondents.
bidder, GMR-Megawide Consortium, or GMR Infrastructure and Megawide
Consortium, as the winning bidders for the project. On the same day, However, by the end the Court unanimously dismissed for lack of merit the
petitioner Osmena filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition with prayer of petition between Osmena v. Abaya and lack of sufficient legal and factual
TRO to prevent public respondents from acting on the bid of private bases BPM v. DOTC, GMR-Megawide. They found no patent error or
respondents, Eventually though, DOTC turned over the operation and arbitrariness in the DOTC's decision to award the contract to the GMR-
maintenance of the MCIA to GMR-Megawide. Megawide Consortium. There being no violation of any law, regulation or the
bidding rules, nor any arbitrariness or unfairness committed by public
Petitioner’s arguments: respondents, the presumption of regularity of the bidding for the MCIA
GMR-Megawide violated the conflict of interests rule Project must stand.
GMR’s poor financial health and track record in its international airport
operations
GMR-Megawide’s lack of financial capacity will bring down its debt burden
and will cause grave and irreparable damage to BPM (taxpayers) frequently
travelling to Cebu and Mactan (G.R. No. 214756)
Respondents’ arguments:
Megawide: on procedural grounds, petition for certiorari (rule 65) is improper
against public respondents especially GMR and MCC, which do not exercise
quasi-judicial or ministerial functions vis-a-vis the bidding process for the
MCIA Project
In G.R. Nos. 211737 & 214756 (DOTC, MCIAA, PBAC), public respondents
argue that a direct resort to this Court is premature and improper under the
doctrine of hierarchy of courts. Having failed to establish special and
important reasons to support petitioners' invocation of this Court's original
jurisdiction, the petitions should be dismissed. It is likewise asserted that the
mere claim that the case is of transcendental importance or that it has an
economic impact would not present a special and important ground that would
justify the exercise of this Court's original jurisdiction and ignoring the
hierarchy of courts.
They further alleged that petitioners have no legal standing to institute the
present petitions. The petition in G.R. No. 211737 does not identify any
specific constitutional question or issue, the principal requirement for legal
standing in public suits.
Issue:
Whether or not the petition before the SC should stand
Ruling:
Yes, insofar as the doctrine of the hierarchy of courts are concerned, the Court
held that after a thorough study and evaluation of the issues involved, the
Court is of the view that exceptional circumstances exist in this case to
warrant the relaxation of the rule. The Court can resolve the factual issues
from the available evidence on record.
While this Court has original jurisdiction over petitions for certiorari,
prohibition, mandamus, quo warranto, and habeas corpus, such jurisdiction is
shared with the Court of Appeals and the Regional Trial Courts. It is judicial
policy that — x x x a direct invocation of the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction is
allowed only when there are special and important reasons therefor, clearly
and especially set out in the petition. Reasons of practicality, dictated by an
increasingly overcrowded docket and the need to prioritize in favor of matters
within our exclusive jurisdiction, justify the existence of this rule otherwise
known as the “principle of hierarchy of courts.” More generally stated, the
principle requires that recourse must first be made to the lower-ranked court
exercising concurrent jurisdiction with a higher court. (Italics omitted;
emphasis supplied)

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Osmena v. Abaya The Court thus declared in Heirs of Bertuldo Hinog v.

Melicor, 455 SCRA

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