ONE HEART SPORTING CLUB, INC. vs. THE COURT OF APPEALS and THE DIPOLOG COLISEUM, INC. G.R. No. L-53790 October 23, 1981

DE CASTRO,  J.:

Doctrine:

The question being purely legal, there was no need for the private respondent to exhaust administrative remedies and its action in seeking judicial redress is therefore justified.

Facts:

On May 9, 1974, Presidential Decree No. 449, otherwise known as the "Cockfighting Law of the Philippines" was promulgated by the President of the Philippines, requiring among others that cockpits "shall be constructed and operated within the appropriate areas as prescribed in the zoning law or ordinance and in the absence of such law or ordinance, no cockpits shall be constructed within or near existing residential or commercial areas, hospitals, school buildings, churches or other public buildings." 

P.D. 449 gave owners, lessees or operators of cockpits then in existence which do not conform to the requirement three (3) years from the date of the effectivity of said decree to comply therewith.

On May 10, 1978, petitioner One Heart Sporting Club, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Sporting Club) a corporation still in the process of organization, through its manager Angeles B. Cuenca, applied for a permit to construct and operate a new cockpit at an appropriate site in Sta. Filomena, Dipolog City. A mayor's permit was granted and approved by the PC Regional Commander on September 19, 1978. The Sporting Club was incorporated with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 19, 1978 and the sports complex built by the Sporting Club was inaugurated on September 24, 1978 and subsequently commenced its operation.

On September 29, 1978 the Bulletin Today reported that the President of the Philippines had issued P.D. 1535 on June 11, 1978 extending for another two (2) years from the date of the effectivity of the decree, or until June 11, 1980, within which existing cockpits could relocate within permissible areas.

On the same date, September 29, 1978, private respondent officially and formally requested the City Mayor of Dipolog City to allow it to resume cockpit operations in view of the extension granted by P.D. 1535. The City Mayor granted the request but the PC Provincial Command denied private respondent's application for a business permit for the reason that there was already an existing authorized cockpit in Dipolog City at the time, which is the Sporting Club, and the City can operate only one (1) cockpit at a time pursuant to Sec. 5 (b) of P.D. 1535

Issue: Whether private respondent is entitled to the extension granted by P.D. 1535.

Ruling: YES. 

Contrary to the above assertion, P.D. 1535 clearly intended to grant an extension to cockpits which are still located within the prohibited area to relocate the same in an appropriate site. P.D. 1535 would be a dead law if not applied to private respondent and others similarly situated, because legally, there would be no longer any cockpits existing in the country who failed to relocate its site on May 9, 1978 or if cockpits were still in existence within the prohibited area on said date, they would be operating illegally. The better view is to hold that private respondent's cockpit was still legally in existence when P.D. 1535 took effect. To hold otherwise would lead to a situation where there would be no cockpits that could avail of the extension granted by P.D. 1535.

The late release of P.D. 1535 is the cause of all the confusion. It was published in Bulletin Today only on September 29,1978 and in the Official Gazette on January 15, 1979. Undoubtedly, P.D. 1535 is intended to cover cockpits which have been granted an extension by a previous law, P.D. 1140.