Osmena v. Orbos

2/15/24, 7:50 PM SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 220
VOL. 220, MARCH 31, 1993 703

Osmeña vs. Orbos
*
G.R. No. 99886. March 31, 1993.
JOHN H. OSMEÑA, petitioner, vs. OSCAR ORBOS, in his

capacity as Executive Secretary; JESUS ESTANISLAO, in
his capacity as Secretary of Finance; WENCESLAO DELA
PAZ, in his capacity as Head of the Office of Energy Affairs;
REX V. TANTIONGCO, and the ENERGY REGULATORY
BOARD, respondents.
Constitutional Law; Taxation; Money named as a tax but

actually collected in the exercise of police power may be placed in a
special trust account—Hence, it seems clear that while the funds
collected may be
_______________
* EN BANC.
704
704 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
Osmeña vs. Orbos
referred to as taxes, they are exacted in the exercise of the police

power of the State. Moreover, that the OPSF is a special fund is
plain from the special treatment given it by E.O. 137. It is
segregated from the general fund; and while it is placed in what
the law refers to as a "trust liability account," the fund
nonetheless remains subject to the scrutiny and review of the
COA. The Court is satisfied that these measures comply with the
constitutional description of a "special fund." Indeed, the practice
is not without precedent.
Same; Same; Oils and Gas; No undue delegation of legislative
power where Energy Regulatory Board authorized to impose
https://central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000018dac9ff1c00b526254000d00d40059004a/t/?o=False 1/15
additional amounts to augment the resources of the Fund.—With

regard to the alleged undue delegation of legislative power, the
Court finds that the provision conferring the authority upon the
ERB to impose additional amounts on petroleum products
provides a sufficient standard by which the authority must be
exercised. In addition to the general policy of the law to protect
the local consumer by stabilizing and subsidizing domestic pump
rates, § 8(c) of P.D. 1956 expressly authorizes the ERB to impose
additional amounts to augment the resources of the "Fund.
Same; Same; Same; Same.—For a valid delegation of power,
it is essential that the law delegating the power must be (1)
complete in itself, that is it must set forth the policy to be
executed by the delegate and (2) it must fix a standard—limits of
which are sufficiently determinate or determinable—to which the
delegate must conform.
Same; Same; Same; Statutory construction; Reimbursement of
financing charges is not authorized by P.D. 1956; but payment of
inventory losses and cost underrecoveries from sales of oil to NPC
are permitted to be made by Energy Regulatory Board.—The
Court thus holds, that the reimbursement of financing charges is
not authorized by paragraph 2 of § 8 of P.D. 1956, for the reason
that they were not incurred as a result of the reduction of
domestic prices of petroleum products. Under the same. provision,
however, the payment of inventory losses is upheld as valid, being
clearly a result of domestic price reduction, when oil companies
incur a cost underrecovery for yet unsold stocks of oil in inventory
acquired at a higher price. Reimbursement for cost underrecovery
from the sales of oil to the National Power Corporation is equally
permissible, not as coming within the provisions of P.D. 1956, but
in virtue of other laws and regulations as held in Caltex and
which have been pointed to by the Solicitor General. At any rate,
doubts about the propriety of such reimbursements have been
dispelled by the enactment of R.A. 6952, establishing the
Petroleum Price Standby Fund, § 2 of which specifically
authorizes the reimbursement of "cost
705
VOL. 220, MARCH 31, 1993 705
Osmeña vs. Orbos
underrecovery incurred as a result of fuel oil sales to the National

Power Corporation."
ORIGINAL PETITION for certiorari and Prohibition in the

Supreme Court.
The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court.

Nachura & Sarmiento for petitioner.
The Solicitor General for public respondents.
NARVASA, C.J.:
1
The petitioner seeks the corrective, prohibitive and

coercive
2 remedies provided by Rule 65 of the 3 Rules of
Court, upon the following posited grounds, viz.:
1) the invalidity of the "TRUST ACCOUNT" in the

books of account of the Ministry of Energy (now, the
Office of Energy Affairs), created pursuant to § 8,
paragraph 1, of P.D. No. 1956, as amended, "said
creation of a trust fund being contrary 4 to Section 29
(3), Article VI of the ** Constitution;"

2) the unconstitutionality of § 8, paragraph 1 (c) of
P.D. No. 1956, as amended by Executive Order No.
137, for "being an undue and invalid delegation of
legislative
5 power ** to the Energy Regulatory
Board;"
3) the illegality of the reimbursements to oil
companies,
6 paid out of the Oil Price Stabilization
Fund, because it contravenes § 8, paragraph 2 (2)
of P.D. 1956, as amended; and
4) the consequent nullity of the Order dated December
10, 1990 and the necessity of a rollback of the pump
prices and
_______________
1 The writ of certiorari is, of course, available only as against tribunals,

boards or officers exercising judicial or quasi-judicial functions.
2 The petition alleges separate causes or grounds for each extraordinary
writ sought.
3 Rollo, pp. 1 to 4.
4 Rollo, p. 2.
5 Id.
6 When this petition was filed, the amount involved was P5,277.4
million.
706

Osmeña vs. Orbos
petroleum products to the levels prevailing prior to

the said Order.
It will be recalled that on October 10,1984, President

Ferdinand Marcos issued P.D. 1956 creating a Special
Account in the General Fund, designated as the Oil Price
Stabilization Fund (OPSF). The OPSF was designed to
reimburse oil companies for cost increases in crude oil and
imported petroleum products resulting from exchange rate
adjustments and from increases in the world market prices
of crude oil.
Subsequently, the OPSF was reclassified7 into a "trust
liability account," in virtue of E.O 1024, and ordered
released from the National Treasury to the Ministry of
Energy. The same Executive Order also authorized the
investment of the fund in government securities, with the
earnings from such placements accruing to the fund.
President Corazon C. Aquino, amended P.D. 1956. She
promulgated Executive Order No. 137 on February 27,
1987, expanding the grounds for reimbursement to oil
companies for possible cost underrecovery incurred as a
result of the reduction of domestic prices of petroleum
products, the amount of the underrecovery being left for
determination by the Ministry of Finance.
Now, the petition alleges that the status of the OPSF as
of March 31, 1991 showed a "Terminal 8 Fund Balance
deficit" of some P 12.877 billion; that to abate the
worsening deficit, "the Energy Regulatory Board ** issued
an Order on December 10, 1990, approving the increase in
pump prices of petroleum products," and at the rate of
recoupment, the OPSF deficit should have been fully
covered in a span of six (6) months, but this
notwithstanding, the respondents—Oscar Orbos, in his
capacity as Executive Secretary; Jesus Estanislao, in his
capacity as Secretary of Finance; Wenceslao de la Paz, in
his capacity as Head of the Office of Energy Affairs;
Chairman Rex V. Tantiongco and the Energy Regulatory
Board—"are poised to accept, 9 process and pay claims not
authorized under P.D. 1956."
_______________
7 Issued on 9 May 1985.

8 Rollo, pp. 8-9.
9 Rollo, p. 11; italics supplied.
707
VOL. 220, MARCH 31, 1993 707

Osmeña vs. Orbos
The petition further avers that the creation of the trust

fund violates § 29(3), Article VI of the Constitution, reading
as follows:
"(3) All money collected on any tax levied for a special purpose
shall be treated as a special fund and paid out for such purposes
only. If the purpose for which a special fund was created has been
fulfilled or abandoned, the balance, if any, shall be transferred to
the general funds of the Government."
The petitioner argues that "the monies collected pursuant

to ** P.D. 1956, as amended, must be treated as a
'SPECIAL FUND,' not as a 'trust account' or a 'trust fund,'
and that "if a special tax is collected for a specific purpose,
the revenue generated therefrom shall be treated as a
special fund' to be used only for the purpose indicated, and 10
not channeled to another government objective."

Petitioner further points out that since "a 'special fund'
consists of monies, collected through the taxing power of a
State, such amounts belong to the State, although the use
thereof is limited
11 to the special purpose/objective for which
it was created."
He also contends that the "delegation of legislative
authority" to the ERB violates § 28 (2), Article VI of the
Constitution, viz.:
"(2) The Congress may, by law, authorize the President to fix,

within specified limits, and subject to such limitations and
restrictions as it may impose, tariff rates, import and export
quotas, tonnage and wharfage dues, and other duties or imposts
within the framework of the national development program of the
Government";
and, inasmuch as the delegation relates to the exercise of

the power of taxation, "the limits, limitations and
restrictions must be quantitative, that is, the law must not
only specify how to tax, who (shall) be taxed (and) what the
tax is12 for, but also impose a specific limit on how much to
tax."
The petitioner does not suggest that a "trust account" is
illegal per se, but maintains that the monies collected,
which form part
_______________
10 Id., pp. 13-4.
11 Id., p. 15.
12 Rollo, p. 17.
708

Osmeña vs. Orbos
of the OPSF, should be maintained in a special account of

the general fund for the reason that the Constitution so
provides, and because they are, supposedly, taxes levied for
a special purpose. He assumes that the Fund is formed
from a tax undoubtedly because a portion thereof is taken
from collections of ad valorem taxes and the increases
thereon.
It thus appears that the challenge posed by the
petitioner is premised primarily on the view that the
powers granted to the ERB under P.D. 1956, as amended,
partake of the nature of the taxation power of the State.
The Solicitor General observes that the "argument rests on
the assumption that the OPSF is a form of revenue
measure drawing13 from a special tax to be expended for a
special purpose." The petitioner's perceptions are, in the
Court's view, not quite correct.
To address this critical misgiving in the position of the
petitioner on these issues, the Court recalls
14 its holding in
Valmonte v. Energy Regulatory Board, et al. —
"The foregoing arguments suggest the presence of misconceptions

about the nature and functions of the OPSF. The OPSF is a Trust
Account' which was established 'for the purpose of minimizing the
frequent price changes brought about by exchange rate
adjustment and/or changes in world
15 market prices of crude oil and
imported petroleum products.' Under P.D. No. 1956, as amended
by Executive Order No. 137 dated 27 February 1987, this Trust
Account may be funded from any of the following sources:
"a) Any increase in the tax collection from ad valorem tax or

customs duty imposed on petroleum products subject to tax
under this Decree arising from exchange rate adjustment,
as may be determined by the Minister of Finance in
consultation with the Board of Energy;
b) Any increase in the tax collection as a result of the lifting of
tax exemptions of government corporations, as may be
deter
_______________
13 Comment of the Respondents; Rollo, p. 63.
14 G.R. Nos. L-79501-03 [23 June 1988] 162 SCRA 521; Decided jointly
with Citizen's Alliance for Consumer Protection v. Energy Regulatory
Board et al., G.R. Nos. L-78888-90, and Kilusang Mayo Uno Labor Center
v. Energy Regulatory Board, et al., G.R. Nos. L-79590-92; italics supplied.
15 Citing E.O. No. 137, Sec. 1 (amending § 8 of P.D. 1956).
709
VOL. 220, MARCH 31, 1993 709

Osmeña vs. Orbos
mined by the Minister of Finance in consultation with the

Board of Energy;
c) Any additional amount to be imposed on petroleum
products to augment the resources of the Fund through an
appropriate Order that may be issued by the Board of
Energy requiring payment of persons or companies
engaged in the business of importing, manufacturing
and/or marketing petroleum products;
d) Any resulting peso cost differentials in case the actual peso
costs paid by oil companies in the importation of crude oil
and petroleum products is less than the peso costs
computed using the reference foreign exchange rate as
fixed by the Board of Energy."
*******
The fact that the world market prices of oil, measured by the spot
market in Rotterdam, vary from day to day is of judicial notice.
Freight rates for hauling crude oil and petroleum products from
sources of supply to the Philippines may also vary from time to
time. The exchange rate of the peso vis-a-vis the U.S. dollar and
other convertible foreign currencies also changes from day to day.
These fluctuations in world market prices and in tanker rates and
foreign exchange rates would in a completely free market
translate into corresponding adjustments in domestic prices of oil
and petroleum products with sympathetic frequency. But
domestic prices which vary from day to day or even only from
week to week would result in a chaotic market with unpredictable
effects upon the country's economy in general. The OPSF was
established precisely to protect local consumers from the adverse
consequences that such frequent oil price adjustments may have
upon the economy. Thus, the OPSF serves as a pocket, as it were,
into which a portion of the purchase price of oil and petroleum
products paid by consumers as well as some tax revenues are
inputted and from which amounts are drawn from time to time to
reimburse oil companies, when appropriate situations arise, for
increases in, as well as underrecovery of, costs of crude

importation. The OPSF is thus a buffer mechanism through which
the domestic consumer prices of oil and petroleum products are
stabilized, instead of fluctuating every so often, and oil companies
are allowed to recover those portions of their costs which they
would not otherwise recover given the level of domestic prices
existing at any given time. To the extent that some tax revenues are
also put into it, the OPSF is in effect a device through which the
domestic prices of petroleum products are subsidized in part. It
appears to the Court that the establishment and maintenance of
the OPSF is well within that pervasive and non-waivable power
and responsibility of the government
710

Osmeña vs. Orbos
to secure the physical and economic survival and well-being of the

community, that comprehensive sovereign authority we designate
as the police power of the State. The stabilization, and subsidy of
domestic prices of petroleum products and fuel oil—clearly critical
in importance considering, among other things, the continuing
high level of dependence of the country on imported crude oil—are
appropriately regarded as public purposes."
Also of relevance is this Court's ruling in relation to the

sugar stabilization fund the nature of which is not far
different
16 from the OPSF. In Gaston v. Republic Planters
Bank, this Court upheld the legality of the sugar
stabilization fees and explained their nature and character,
viz.:
'The stabilization fees collected are in the nature of a tax, which is

within the power of the State to impose for the promotion of the
sugar industry (Lutz v. Araneta, 98 Phil. 148). * * * The tax
collected is not in a pure exercise of the taxing power. It is levied
with a regulatory purpose, to provide a means for the stabilization
of the sugar industry. The levy is primarily in the exercise of the
police power of the State (Lutz v. Araneta, supra).
*****
"The stabilization fees in question are levied by the State upon
sugar millers, planters and producers for a special purpose—that
of 'financing the growth and development of the sugar industry
and all its components, stabilization of the domestic market
including the foreign market.' The fact that the State has taken
possession of moneys pursuant to law is sufficient to constitute
them state funds, even though they are held for a special purpose
(Lawrence v. American Surety Co. 263 Mich. 586, 249 ALR 535,
cited in 42 Am Jur Sec. 2, p. 718). Having been levied for a special
purpose, the revenues collected are to be treated as a special fund,
to be, in the language of the statute, 'administered in trust' for the
purpose intended. Once the purpose has been fulfilled or
abandoned, the balance if any, is to be transferred to the general
funds of the Government. That is the essence of the trust
intended (SEE 1987 Constitution, Article VI, Sec. 17 29(3), lifted
from the 1935 Constitution, Article VI, Sec. 23(1).
_______________
16 158 SCRA 626; italics supplied.

17 "(3) All money collected on any tax levied for a special purpose shall
be treated as a special fund and paid out for such purpose only. If the
purpose for which a special fund was created has been fulfilled or
abandoned, the balance, if any, shall be transferred to the general
711
VOL. 220, MARCH 31, 1993 711

Osmeña vs. Orbos
"The character of the Stabilization Fund as a special kind of fund

is emphasized by the fact that the funds are deposited in the
Philippine National Bank and not in the Philippine Treasury,
moneys from which may be paid out only in pursuance of an
appropriation made by law (1987) Constitution, Article VI, Sec. 29
(3), lifted from the 1935 Constitution, Article VI, Sec. 23(1)."
(italics supplied.)
Hence, it seems clear that while the funds collected may be

referred to as taxes, they are exacted in the exercise of the
police power of the State. Moreover, that the OPSF is a
special fund is plain from the special treatment given it by
E.O. 137. It is segregated from the general fund; and while
it is placed in what the law refers to as a "trust liability
account," the fund nonetheless remains subject to the
scrutiny and review of the COA. The Court is satisfied that
these measures comply with the constitutional description
of a "special fund." Indeed, the practice is not without
precedent.
With regard to the alleged undue delegation of
legislative power, the Court finds that the provision
conferring the authority upon the ERB to impose additional
amounts on petroleum products provides a sufficient
standard by which the authority must be exercised. In
addition to the general policy of the law to protect the local
consumer by stabilizing18 and subsidizing domestic pump

rates, § 8(c) of P.D. 1956 expressly authorizes the ERB to
impose additional amounts to augment the resources of the
Fund.
What petitioner would wish is the fixing of some
definite, quantitative
19 restriction, or "a specific limit on how
much to tax." The Court is cited to this requirement by
the petitioner on the premise that what is involved here is
the power of taxation; but as already discussed, this is not
the case. What is here involved is not so much the power of
taxation as police power. Although the provision
authorizing the ERB to impose additional amounts could be
construed to refer to the power of taxation, it cannot be
overlooked that the overriding consideration is to enable
the delegate to act with expediency in carrying out the
objectives of funds of the government." (1987 Constitution,
Art. VI, Sec. 28[3]).
_______________
18 Supra; see footnote 14 and related text.

19 Rollo, p. 17.
712

Osmeña vs. Orbos
the law which are embraced by the police power of the

State.
The interplay and constant fluctuation of the various
factors involved in the determination of the price of oil and
petroleum products, and the frequently shifting need to
either augment or exhaust the Fund, do not conveniently
permit the setting of fixed or rigid parameters in the law as
proposed by the petitioner. To do so would render the ERB
unable to respond effectively so as to mitigate or avoid the
undesirable consequences of such fluidity. As such, the
standard as it is expressed, suffices to guide the delegate in
the exercise of the delegated power, taking account of the
circumstances under which it is to be exercised.
For a valid delegation of power, it is essential that the
law delegating the power must be (1) complete in itself,
that is it must set forth the policy to be executed by the
delegate and (2) it must fix a standard—limits of which are
sufficiently determinate 20 or determinable—to which the
delegate must conform.
"* * * As pointed out in Edu v. Ericta: To avoid the taint of

unlawful delegation, there must be a standard, which implies at
the very least that the legislature itself determines matters of
principle and lays down fundamental policy. Otherwise, the
charge of complete abdication may be hard to repel. A standard
thus defines legislative policy, marks its limits, maps out its
boundaries and specifies the public agency to apply it. It indicates
the circumstances under which the legislative command is to be
effected. It is the criterion by which the legislative purpose may
be carried out. Thereafter, the executive or administrative office
designated may in pursuance of the above guidelines promulgate
supplemental rules and regulations. The standard may either be
express or implied. If the former, the non-delegation objection is
easily met. The standard though does not have to be spelled out
specifically. It could be implied
21 from the policy and purpose of the
act considered as a whole.' "
It would seem that from the above-quoted ruling, the

petition for prohibition should fail.
_______________
20 SEE Vigan Electric Light Co., Inc. v. Public Service Commission,

G.R. No. L-19850, 30 January 1964 and Pelaez v. Auditor General, G.R.
No. L-23825, 24 December 1965; see also Gonzales, N. Administrative Law
—A Text, (1979) at 29.
21 De La Llana v. Alba, 112 SCRA 294, citing Edu v. Ericta, 35 SCRA
481; Cf. Agustin v. Edu, 88 SCRA 195.
713
VOL. 220, MARCH 31, 1993 713

Osmeña vs. Orbos
The standard, as the Court has already stated, may even

be implied. In that light, there can be no ground upon
which to sustain the petition, inasmuch as the challenged
law sets forth a determinable standard which guides the
exercise of the power granted to the ERB. By the same
token, the proper exercise of the delegated power may be
tested with ease. It seems obvious that what the law
intended was to permit the additional imposts for as long
as there exists a need to protect the general public and the
petroleum industry from the adverse consequences of pump
rate fluctuations. "Where the standards set up for the
guidance of an administrative officer and the action taken
are in fact recorded in the orders of such officer, so that
Congress, the courts and the public are assured that the
orders in the judgment of such officer conform to the

legislative standard, there is 22 no failure in the performance
of the legislative functions."

This Court thus finds no serious impediment to
sustaining the validity of the legislation; the express
purpose for which the imposts are permitted and the
general objectives and purposes of the fund are readily
discernible, and they constitute a sufficient standard upon
which the delegation of power may be justified.
In relation to the third question—respecting the
illegality of the reimbursements to oil companies, paid out
of the Oil Price Stabilization Fund, because allegedly in
contravention
23 of § 8, paragraph 2 (2) of P.D. 1956, as
amended —the Court finds for the petitioner.
The petition assails the payment of certain items or
accounts in favor of the petroleum companies (i.e.,
inventory losses, financing charges, fuel oil sales to the
National Power Corporation, etc.) because not authorized
by law. Petitioner contends that "these claims are not
embraced in the enumeration in § 8 of P.D. 1956 ** since
none of them was incurred 'as a result of 24 the reduction of
domestic prices of petroleum products,' " and since these

items are reimbursements for which the OPSF should not
have responded, the amount of the P12.877 billion deficit
"should
_______________
22 Hirabayashi v. U.S., 390 U.S. 99.

23 When this petition was filed, the amount involved was P5,277.4
million.
24 Rollo, p. 20.
714

Osmeña vs. Orbos
25
be reduced by P5,277.2 million." It is argued "that under

the principle of ejusdem generis * * * the term 'other
factors' (as used in § 8 of P.D. 1956) ** can only include
such 'other factors' which necessarily result 26in the
reduction of domestic prices of petroleum products."
The Solicitor General, for his part, contends that "(t)o
place said (term) within the restrictive confines of the rule
of ejusdem generis would reduce (E.O. 137) to a
meaningless provision."
This Court, in Caltex Philippines,27Inc. v. The Honorable

Commissioner on Audit, et al., passed upon the
application of ejusdem generis to paragraph 2 of § 8 of P.D.
1956, viz.:
"The rule of ejusdem generis states that '[w]here words follow an

enumeration of persons or things, by words of a particular and
specific meaning, such general words are not to be construed in
their widest extent, but are held to be as applying only to persons
or things 28of the same kind or class as those specifically
mentioned.' A reading of subparagraphs (i) and (ii) easily
discloses that they do not have a common characteristic. The first
relates to price reduction as directed by the Board of Energy while
the second refers to reduction in internal ad valorem taxes.
Therefore, subparagraph (iii) cannot be limited by the
enumeration in these subparagraphs. What should be considered
for purposes of determining the 'other factors' in subparagraph
(iii) is the first sentence of paragraph (2) of the Section which
explicitly allows the cost underrecovery only if such were incurred
as a result of the reduction of domestic prices of petroleum
products."
The Court thus holds, that the reimbursement of financing

charges is not authorized by paragraph 2 of § 8 of P.D.
1956, for the reason that they were not incurred as a result
of the reduction of domestic prices of petroleum products.
Under the same
_______________
25 Id., p. 21.
26 Id., p. 20.
27 Caltex Philippines, Inc. v. The Honorable Commissioner on Audit, et
al., G.R. No. 92585, 8 May 1992, En Banc, N.B.—The Solicitor General
seems to have taken a different position in this case, with respect to the
application of ejusdem generis.
28 Smith Bell and Co., Ltd. v. Register of Deeds of Davao, 96 Phil. 53
[1954], citing BLACK on Interpretation of Law, 2nd ed. at 203; see also
Republic v. Migriño 189 SCRA 289 [1990].
715
VOL. 220, MARCH 31, 1993 715

Osmeña vs. Orbos
provision, however, the payment of inventory losses is

upheld as valid, being clearly a result of domestic price
reduction, when oil companies incur a cost underrecovery
for yet unsold stocks of oil in inventory acquired at a higher

price.
Reimbursement for cost underrecovery from the sales of
oil to the National Power Corporation is equally
permissible, not as coming within the provisions of P.D.
1956, but
29 in virtue of other laws and regulations as held in
Caltex and which have been pointed to by the Solicitor
General. At any rate, doubts about the propriety of such
reimbursements have been dispelled by the enactment of
R.A. 6952, establishing the Petroleum Price Standby Fund,
§ 2 of which specifically authorizes the reimbursement of
"cost underrecovery incurred as a result of fuel oil sales to
the National Power Corporation."
Anent the overpayment refunds mentioned by the
petitioner, no substantive discussion has been presented to
show how this is prohibited by P.D. 1956. Nor has the
Solicitor General taken any effort to defend the propriety of
this refund. In fine, neither of the parties, beyond the mere
mention of overpayment refunds, has at all bothered to
discuss the arguments for or against the legality of the so-
called overpayment refunds. To be sure, the absence of any
argument for or against the validity of the refund cannot
result in its disallowance by the Court. Unless the
impropriety or illegality of the overpayment refund has
been clearly and specifically shown, there can be no basis
upon which to nullify the same.
Finally, the Court finds no necessity to rule on the
remaining issue, the same having been rendered moot and
academic. As of date hereof, the pump rates of gasoline
have been reduced to levels below even those prayed for in
the petition.
WHEREFORE, the petition is GRANTED insofar as it
prays for the nullification of the reimbursement of
financing charges, paid pursuant to E.O. 137, and
DISMISSED in all other respects.
SO ORDERED.
Cruz, Feliciano, Padilla, Bidin, Griño-Aquino,

Regalado, Davide, Jr., Romero, Nocon, Bellosillo, Melo,
Campos, Jr. and
_______________
29 Supra at note 25; SEE also Maceda v. Hon. Catalino Macaraig, Jr.,
et al., G.R. No. 88291, 197 SCRA 771 (1991).
716

Mariano vs. Court of Appeals
Quiason, JJ., concur.

Gutierrez, Jr., J., On terminal leave.
Petition partly granted and dismissed in all other

respects.
Note.—If the instruction of the law is to exempt electric

franchise grantees from paying real property tax and to
make the 2% franchise tax the only imposable tax, then
said enumerated items would not have been added when
P.D. 852 amended P.D. 551 (Province of Tarlac vs.
Alcantara, 216 SCRA 790).
——o0o——
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2/15/24, 7:50 PM SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 220

VOL. 220, MARCH 31, 1993 703

G.R. No. 99886. March 31, 1993.

JOHN H. OSMEÑA, petitioner, vs. OSCAR ORBOS, in his

Constitutional Law; Taxation; Money named as a tax but

704 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Osmeña vs. Orbos

referred to as taxes, they are exacted in the exercise of the police

additional amounts to augment the resources of the Fund.—With

VOL. 220, MARCH 31, 1993 705

Osmeña vs. Orbos

underrecovery incurred as a result of fuel oil sales to the National

ORIGINAL PETITION for certiorari and Prohibition in the

The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court.

The petitioner seeks the corrective, prohibitive and

1) the invalidity of the "TRUST ACCOUNT" in the

(3), Article VI of the ** Constitution;"

1 The writ of certiorari is, of course, available only as against tribunals,

706 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

petroleum products to the levels prevailing prior to

It will be recalled that on October 10,1984, President

7 Issued on 9 May 1985.

VOL. 220, MARCH 31, 1993 707

The petition further avers that the creation of the trust

The petitioner argues that "the monies collected pursuant

not channeled to another government objective."

"(2) The Congress may, by law, authorize the President to fix,

and, inasmuch as the delegation relates to the exercise of

10 Id., pp. 13-4.

708 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

of the OPSF, should be maintained in a special account of

Valmonte v. Energy Regulatory Board, et al. —

"The foregoing arguments suggest the presence of misconceptions

"a) Any increase in the tax collection from ad valorem tax or

VOL. 220, MARCH 31, 1993 709

mined by the Minister of Finance in consultation with the

increases in, as well as underrecovery of, costs of crude

710 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

to secure the physical and economic survival and well-being of the

Also of relevance is this Court's ruling in relation to the

'The stabilization fees collected are in the nature of a tax, which is

16 158 SCRA 626; italics supplied.

VOL. 220, MARCH 31, 1993 711

"The character of the Stabilization Fund as a special kind of fund

Hence, it seems clear that while the funds collected may be

consumer by stabilizing18 and subsidizing domestic pump

18 Supra; see footnote 14 and related text.

712 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

the law which are embraced by the police power of the

"* * * As pointed out in Edu v. Ericta: To avoid the taint of

It would seem that from the above-quoted ruling, the

20 SEE Vigan Electric Light Co., Inc. v. Public Service Commission,

VOL. 220, MARCH 31, 1993 713

The standard, as the Court has already stated, may even

orders in the judgment of such officer conform to the

of the legislative functions."

domestic prices of petroleum products,' " and since these

22 Hirabayashi v. U.S., 390 U.S. 99.

714 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

be reduced by P5,277.2 million." It is argued "that under