56) Antonio Favis vs The City of Baguio  Favis commenced suit for the annulment of the lease contract

ommenced suit for the annulment of the lease contract with damages in
27 SCRA 1060 (1969) the Court of First Instance of Baguio.3 He prayed that (1) defendants be ordered
Power of LGUs – Closure and Opening of Roads to stop, remove and/or demolish whatever constructions had been introduced at
the additional leased area on LapuLapu Street; (2) the building permit and
FACTS: contract of lease entered into by and between the defendants be cancelled and
 Antonio Favis bought a parcel of land of about 1,000 square meters from the revoked for being null and void; and (3) defendants be directed to pay, jointly and
Assumption Convent, Inc. Said lot is bounded on the southwest by a Lot owned severally, actual, compensatory, corrective and consequential damages totalling
by Assumption Convent, Inc. and part of subdivision plan. P50,000, attorneys’ fees in the sum of P2,000, and the costs.
 Simultaneous with the sale, Assumption donated to the City—“for road  The lower court rendered judgment upholding the two questioned resolutions and
purposes”—the lot indicated in its subdivision plan as the proposed road. dismissing the complaint, with costs.
 This donated road is used by Favis as his means of egress and ingress from his
residence to a public street called LapuLapu Street. ISSUE:
 LapuLapu Street is actually Lot 27 in the amendatory planand is a portion of a big 1. Whether the resolutions directing the partial closing of LapuLapu
tract of land registered in the name of the City, known as Baguio Market Street and the lease thereof are invalid. – NO
Subdivision, for all of which the City holds. 2. Whether the resolution narrowed down, narrowed down, much to
 It branches out to various parts of the market subdivision. From its intersecting Favis’ prejudice, the width of LapuLapu Street at its connecting point
point with Dagohoy Street and going northward, LapuLapu Street is eight (8) with the donated road which, in turn, leads to his land - NO
meters wide it abruptly ends as it meets portions of two lots—the donated road 3. Whether or not the City can withdraw parts of a street from public use
aforementioned and the lot owned by Olmina Fernandez. Fernandez’ lot is and use the remainder as a mere alley. - YES
fenced, with buildings; and there is a sharp depression of at least 2 meters at the
precise point it meets Lapu-Lapu Street. RULING:
 at the exact connecting point of LapuLapu Street and the donated road (which 1. Favis allege that the resolutions directing the partial closing of LapuLapu Street
leads to appellant’s land), the road opening is only 2.5 meters wide. and the lease thereof are invalid. Because, so appellant avers, those resolutions
 Lot 25 of the Baguio Market Subdivision is northernmost in said subdivision and contravene the City Charter claiming that subsection (L) of Section 2553 of the
contains an area of approximately 400 square meters. Immediately next to it, to Revised Administrative Code provides that the powers granted to the City—
the north, is the lot of Olmina Fernandez aforesaid. As far back as June, 1947, including the power to close streets— shall be carried “into effect by
the City, by virtue of Resolution No. 115, Series of 1947, of the City Council of ordinance.” Favis’ contention did not prosper.
Baguio, leased this Lot 25 to Shell for a tenyear period renawable for another ten It has been held that “even where the statute or municipal charter requires the
years. Shell constructed thereon a service station of about 335 square meters. municipality to act by ordinance, if a resolution is passed in the manner and with the
 The City Council of Baguio passed Resolution No. 132 authorizing the City thru statutory formality required in the enactment of an ordinance, it will be binding and
its Mayor to lease to Shell two parcels of land. effective as an ordinance."4 Such resolution may operate regardless of the name by
o Lot 25 (Lot A), it is to be noted, is the same lot leased to Shell way back which it is called.5
Resolutions No. 132 and 215, Series of 1961, were unanimously approved with all the
in June, 1947 and the lease of Lot B is merely an addition thereto. This
councilors present and voting, carried the seal of the city council, were signed by the
additional area taken from LapuLapu Street is five (5) meters wide and
City ViceMayor, the Presiding Officer, approved by the City Mayor, and attested by
twenty (20) meters long and abuts Lot 25.
the City Secretary. With the presumption of validity of the resolution and the other
 About three weeks later, the City, thru its Mayor, entered into a formal contract of
presumption that official duty has been regularly performed, the embattled resolutions
lease with Shell. Shell filed an application with the Office of the City Engineer of
are just as good as ordinances and have the same force.
Baguio for a building permit for the construction of a new and bigger gasoline
Second, Favis cites lack of advertisement or direct notice to owners of contiguous
station on the leased premises.
properties whose rights might be affected, as another ground to show invalidity of the
 Antonio C. Favis lodged a letterprotest against the additional lease made in favor
of Shell. He claimed that it would diminish the width of Lapu Lapu Street to five resolutions. The requirement of notice specified in the aforequoted provision of the
meters only; that it would destroy the symmetry of the said street thus making it city charter is not applicable to the case at bar. It will be observed that the notice is to
look very ugly; and that the City was bereft of authority to lease any portion of its be given to any, and all persons interested”, to be placed in a securely sealed
public streets in favor of anyone. postpaid wrapper addressed “to each person affected thereby and assessed
 City Council of Baguio, on July 19, 1961, passed Resolution No. 215, amending thereunder.” The accent is on the word and. The person “affected” must also be
Resolution No. 132, Series of 1961, by converting that “portion of LapuLapu “assessed”. And then, “such notice shall set forth the nature of the proposed
Street lying southeast from Lot B of the sketch plan prepared March 10, 1961 by
improvement, the estimated cost therefor, the total amount of the assessment to be
Private Land Surveyor Perfecto B. Espiritu, beginning at this portion’s
intersection with Dagohoy Street, into an alley 5.00 meters wide (4 m. now in levied therefor, and the amount to be levied upon each parcel of the property or
actual use); declaring for this purpose, that said Lot B shall not be a part of this possession of the addressee.” In turn, the council, after hearing objections, may
alley.”
“alter, modify, or increase the area of [the] district, the total assessment thereof, or council is the authority competent to determine whether or not a certain property is
any individual area or assessment objected to therein.” still necessary for public use or public service (patrimonial property). Such power to
vacate a street or alley is discretionary. And the discretion will not ordinarily be
Clearly then, this method of giving notice applies only when an ordinance calls for an controlled or interfered with by the courts, absent a plain case of abuse or fraud or
assessment. So that where no assessment has been made or is to be made, such collusion. Favis, being a property owner in city, recognizes when he bought said
property that is after such buying of property the city authorities abandon a portion of
notice need not be given. the street to which his property is not immediately adjacent, he may suffer loss
because of the inconvenience imposed, but the public treasury cannot be required to
In the case at bar, the resolutions in question do not at all call f or any kind of recompense him. Such case is damnum absque injuria
assessment against appellant or his land. Hence, the notice that appellant would want
to have, need not be given. For the reasons given, the appealed judgment of the Court of First Instance of
Baguio declaring valid Resolution No. 132, Series of 1961, and Resolution No.
2. First, because the 2.5 meter opening connecting the donated road and LapuLapu 215, Series of 1961, both of the City Council of Baguio, and ordering the
Street has always been that wide since the donated road was opened. The fact dismissal of the complaint as well as the counterclaim, is hereby affirmed.
that this opening is 2.5 meters, is confirmed by the ocular inspection personally Costs against plaintiffappellant.
made by the trial judge himself. The occupancy by Shell of a portion of the road
rightofway did not in any way put appellant to any more inconvenience than he
already had. His outlet to LapuLapu Street of 2.5 meters still remains the same.
In the second place, the resolutions in question do not have the effect of decreasing
the width of the opening because said opening is far from the leased portion of
LapuLapu Street. The said leased portion is on the left side of LapuLapu Street,
whereas the opening lies on the right uppermost part of LapuLapu Street. That leased
strip does not reach said opening, In fact, while the lease contract authorized Shell to
take 5 meters, wide of Lapu Lapu Street, Shell occupied only 4 meters wide.8
Thirdly, the executive order could not have been violated because even before its
promulgation, LapuLapu Street was only 8 meters wide, and the said executive order
did not demand widening to 10 meters of existing streets. For it to have so ordered
would have entailed huge expenditure not only on the part of Baguio City but many
other municipal corporations as well which have streets less than 10 meters wide.
For, compensation for the expropriation of private property would have to be given.

3. Favis’ asserts that since the municipal bodies have no inherent power to vacate
or withdraw a street from public use, there must be a specific grant by legislative
body to the city or municipality concerned.
Looking at the city’s charter, the city is empowered to close a city street (Section 2557
of Revised Administrative Code – Baguio Charter). Considering that “municipal
corporations in the Philippines are mere creatures of Congress; that, as such, said
corporations possessed, and may exercise, only such power as Congress may deem
fit to grant thereto”, as what actually happened in the case at bar, the city was
granted such power via its charter.

In subsection (L) of Section 2553 of the Revised Administrative Code (Baguio

Favis may not challenge the city council’s act of withdrawing a strip of Lapu-Lapu
Street at its dead end from public use and converting the remainder thereof into an
alley. These are acts well within the ambit of the power to close a city street. The city