This document is a Supreme Court case from 1924 where petitioners, who are members of the Philippine Legislature and Independence Commission, are seeking a writ of mandamus to compel respondents, including the Governor-General and leaders of the Independence Commission, to exhibit and allow examination of vouchers and documents showing expenditures of funds appropriated to the Independence Commission. Respondents have denied such access. The court must determine if it has jurisdiction over the respondents and subject matter in light of arguments that the Governor-General and Commission leaders are not subject to court control, and the Auditor has exclusive administrative jurisdiction over accounts.
This document is a Supreme Court case from 1924 where petitioners, who are members of the Philippine Legislature and Independence Commission, are seeking a writ of mandamus to compel respondents, including the Governor-General and leaders of the Independence Commission, to exhibit and allow examination of vouchers and documents showing expenditures of funds appropriated to the Independence Commission. Respondents have denied such access. The court must determine if it has jurisdiction over the respondents and subject matter in light of arguments that the Governor-General and Commission leaders are not subject to court control, and the Auditor has exclusive administrative jurisdiction over accounts.
This document is a Supreme Court case from 1924 where petitioners, who are members of the Philippine Legislature and Independence Commission, are seeking a writ of mandamus to compel respondents, including the Governor-General and leaders of the Independence Commission, to exhibit and allow examination of vouchers and documents showing expenditures of funds appropriated to the Independence Commission. Respondents have denied such access. The court must determine if it has jurisdiction over the respondents and subject matter in light of arguments that the Governor-General and Commission leaders are not subject to court control, and the Auditor has exclusive administrative jurisdiction over accounts.
This document is a Supreme Court case from 1924 where petitioners, who are members of the Philippine Legislature and Independence Commission, are seeking a writ of mandamus to compel respondents, including the Governor-General and leaders of the Independence Commission, to exhibit and allow examination of vouchers and documents showing expenditures of funds appropriated to the Independence Commission. Respondents have denied such access. The court must determine if it has jurisdiction over the respondents and subject matter in light of arguments that the Governor-General and Commission leaders are not subject to court control, and the Auditor has exclusive administrative jurisdiction over accounts.
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Republic of the Philippines
SUPREME COURT ManilaEN BANC G.R. No. L-21327 January 14, 1924
TEODORO ABUEVA, ET AL.,
petitioners,vs. LEONARD WOOD, ET AL., respondents. Gregorio Perfecto and Alfonso E. Mendoza for petitioners. Attorney-General VillaReal for respondents.Paredes and Buencamino, Ramon Diokno and Santos and Benitez of counsel. JOHNSON, J.: This is an original action commenced in the Supreme Court by the petitionersfor the writ of mandamus , to compel the respondents to exhibit to thepetitioners and to permit them to examine all the vouchers and otherdocumentary proofs in their possession, showing the disbursements andexpenditures made by them out of the funds of the IndependenceCommission. To the petition each of the respondents demurred. In order thatthere may be a clear understanding of the arguments in support of thedemurrer, a statement of the facts as they appear in the petition becomesnecessary. They are:(1) That the petitioners are and have been for more than sixmonths members of the Independence Commission, created byvirtue of the Concurrent Resolution No. 20 (vol. 14, Public Laws, p.343), adopted on the 7th day of November, 1918, by thePhilippine Legislature; and that the creation of said IndependenceCommission had been confirmed and ratified by Joint ResolutionNo. 13 (vol. 14, Public Laws, p. 342), adopted by the PhilippineLegislature on the 8th day of March, 1919;(2) That all and each one of the petitioners are actually membersof the Philippine Legislature, elected at the general election heldon the 6th day of June, 1922; that the first twenty-six of thepetitioners are members of the House of Representatives and thelast four are members of the Senate of the
Philippine Islands; thatthey all belong to the democratic party;(3) That the respondent Leonard Wood is the Governor-Generalof the Philippine Islands, with his residence and office in the Cityof Manila; that Manuel L. Quezon and Manuel Roxas arePresidents of the Independence Commission; that Paciano Dizonis the Acting Auditor of the Philippine Islands; that Teodoro M.Kalaw is the Executive Secretary of the IndependenceCommission, with a salary of P12,000 per annum, and thatFernando Mariano Guerrero is the Secretary of the IndependenceCommission;(4) That by Act No. 2933 the Legislature of the Philippine Islandsprovided for a standing appropriation of one million pesos(P1,000,000) per annum, payable out of any funds in the InsularTreasury, not otherwise appropriated, to defray the expenses of the Independence Commission, including publicity and all otherexpenses in connection with the performance of its duties; thatsaid appropriation shall be considered as included in the annualappropriation for the Senate and the House of Representatives, atthe rate of P500,000 for each house, although the appropriationact hereafter approved may not make any specific appropriationfor said purpose; with the proviso that no part of said sum shall beset upon the books of the Insular Auditor until it shall benecessary to make the payment or payments authorized by saidact;(5) That the petitioners are citizens and taxpayers and personsinterested in knowing how the public funds are expended ; thatas members of the Legislature they are entrusted with the honestinvestment, disposition, and administration of the public funds of the Government; that as members of the IndependenceCommission they are legally obliged to prevent the funds of saidCommission from being squandered, and to prevent anyinvestments and illicit expenses in open contravention of thepurposes of the law; that the petitioners have verbally and bywriting requested the respondents many times to exhibit to themand to permit them to see and examine the vouchers and otherdocumentary proofs relating to the expenditures and paymentsmade out of the funds appropriated for the use of theIndependence Commission;(6) That notwithstanding the fact that the original vouchersshowing the expenses paid out of the Independence Commissionfund are in the possession of the respondent Paciano Dizon, asActing Insular Auditor, who is under the control and authority of the respondent Leonard Wood as Governor-General; andnotwithsta the fact that the duplicates of said vouchers are in thepossession of the officers of the Independence Commission,Manuel L. Quezon, Manuel Roxas, Teodoro M. Kalaw, andFernando Mariano Guerrero, said respondents taking advantageof all clases of pretexts and subterfuges, have denied andcontinue denying to permit the petitioners from examining saidvouchers and documentary proofs of the expenditures of thefunds of said Independence Commission,
thus trampling uponand denying the rights of the petitioners in their capacity ascitizens of the Philippine Islands, as members of the Legislature,and as members of the Independence Commission, and inflictingan unpardonable offense upon the electors of the PhilippineIslands, who confided their votes and their representation in thepetitioners;(7) That the petitioners not only have a recognized right under thelaw, but also the important duty of knowing how the funds of theCommission are managed; that much of the funds of theIndependence Commission is being used for purposes contrary tothe Concurrent Resolution No. 20 of the 7th day of November,1918;(8) That the petitioners are without other plain, speedy, andadequate remedy.To the petition the Attorney-General, Antonio Villa-Real, appeared asattorney for the respondents Leonard Wood, as Governor-General, Manuel L.Quezon and Manuel Roxas as Chairmen of the Independence Commission,and entered a special appearance for the purpose of objecting to the jurisdiction of the court over his clients , upon the ground, first , that LeonardWood, as Governor-General of the Philippine Islands and head of theexecutive department of the Philippine Government, is not subject to thecontrol or supervision of the courts, and second, that Manuel L. Quezonand Manuel Roxas, as Chairman of the Independence Commission, aremere agents of the Philippine Legislature and cannot be controlled orinterfered with by the courts. The Attorney-General appeared on behalf of Paciano Dizon, as Acting Auditorof the Philippine Islands, and demurred to the petition upon the ground:First, that the court has no jurisdiction of the subject of the actionbecause section 24 of the Jones Law provides that: "Theadministrative jurisdiction of the Auditor over accounts, whetherof funds or property, and all vouchers and records pertainingthereto, shall be exclusive;" and also because the determinationof whether the accounts of the expenses of the Commission of Independence should be shown to the plaintiffs or not, is aquestion of policy and administrative discretion, and is thereforenot justiciable;
