EN BANC
[ G.R. No. 65695, December 19, 1983 ]
HECTOR S. RUIZ, AS COORDINATOR OF THE OLONGAPO CITIZEN'S ALLIANCE FOR NATIONAL RECONCILIATION, PETITIONER, VS. RICHARD GORDON, AS CITY MAYOR OF OLONGAPO CITY, RESPONDENT.
D E C I S I O N
FERNANDO, C.J.:
At the next session day, on November 29, 1983, the Court issued the following resolution: "The Court, after considering the pleadings filed and deliberating on the issues raised in the petition for mandamus with prayer for a writ of preliminary mandatory injunction filed on November 25, 1983, Resolved to require the respondents to file an ANSWER, not a motion to dismiss, within two (2) days from notice."[4]
On the very afternoon of the same day, there was this manifestation from respondent Mayor: "1. On November 22, 1983, the petitioner, allegedly the coordinator of the Olongapo Citizen's Alliance for National Reconciliation, had their request for a prayer rally and parade/march received in the Office of the Mayor. 2. That even before the request, the respondent had repeatedly announced in his regular program on Sunday over the radio (DWGO) and at the Monday morning flag ceremony before hundreds of government employees that he would grant the request of any group that would like to exercise their freedom of speech and assembly. That respondent when interviewed on the matter by the Editor-in-Chief of the 'Guardian,' a newspaper of general circulation in Olongapo and Zambales, mentioned the fact that he had granted the permit of the petitioner, which interview appeared in the November 22-28, 1983 issue of the said newspaper. A copy of the newspaper is hereto attached and made an integral part hereof as Annex 'A.' 4. On November 23, 1983, the City Mayor approved the request of the petitioner to hold a prayer rally and a parade/march on December 4, 1983. A copy of the permit is hereto attached and made an integral part hereof as Annex 'B.' "[5] The prayer was for the dismissal of the petition. The permit reads as follows: "23 November 1983, Dr. Hector S. Ruiz, Coordinator, Olongapo Citizen's Alliance for National Reconciliation, Olongapo City. Dear Dr. Ruiz: Your request for a PERMIT to hold a prayer rally a the Rizal Triangle, Olongapo City and a parade/march from Gordon Avenue at 1:00 p.m. of 4 December 1983 as stated in your letter dated 19 November 1983 received in this office on 22 November is hereby GRANTED provided that: 1. The parade/march and rally will be peaceful and orderly; 2. Your organization will be responsible for any loss or damage to government property and for the cleanliness of the Rizal Triangle; 3. The parade/march shall proceed from the corner of Gordon Ave., and Magsaysay Drive, through Magsaysay Drive, to Rizal Ave., thence to the Rizal Triangle. Please coordinate with the Integrated National Police for appropriate traffic assistance. Very truly yours, (Sgd.) Richard J. Gordon, City Mayor."[6]
At its next session then of November 27, the Court, in the light of the above manifestation, resolved to grant such plea for dismissal. From petitioner came, on December 1, 1983, a motion dated November 29 to withdraw petition. As therein stated: "Petitioner, by counsel, respectfully moves to withdraw the above-entitled petition on the ground that the permit being sought in the prayer- rally to be held on 4 December 1983 from 1:00 to 6:00 PM has been granted by the respondent."[7] Then the next day, December 2,1983, the answer of respondent came reiterating what was set forth in his manifestation. The reason for the delay of such pleading, the due date the service had been served on petitioner being December 1, 1983, was obviously the distance between Manila and Olongapo City. It was not served until November 30. At any rate, no prejudice was caused either party as in the meanwhile, the Court had acted on the very day the manifestation was submitted. That was on December 1, 1983.
There is relevance to a recital of such facts. It appears that the guidelines set forth in the extended opinion in the aforesaid J.B.L. Reyes decision as to the role of the judiciary in petitions for permits to hold peaceable assemblies may have to be supplemented. This is how the J.B.L. Reyes opinion reads on this point: "The applicants for a permit to hold an assembly should inform the licensing authority of the date, the public place where and the time when it will take place. If it were a private place, only the consent of the owner or the one entitled to its legal possession is required. Such application should be filed well ahead in time to enable the public official concerned to appraise whether there may be valid objections to the grant of the permit or to its grant but at another public place. It is an indispensable condition to such refusal or modification that the clear and present danger test be the standard for the decision reached. If he is of the view that there is such an imminent and grave danger of a substantive evil, the applicants must be heard on the matter. Thereafter, his decision, whether favorable or adverse, must be transmitted to them at the earliest opportunity. Thus if so minded, they can have recourse to the proper judicial authority. Free speech and peaceable assembly, along with the other intellectual freedoms, are highly ranked in our scheme of constitutional values. It cannot be too strongly stressed that on the judiciary, even more so than on the other departments rests the grave and delicate responsibility of assuring respect for and deference to such preferred rights. No verbal formula, no sanctifying phrase can, of course, dispense with what has been so felicitously termed by Justice Holmes 'as the sovereign prerogative of judgment.' Nonetheless, the presumption must be to incline the weight of the scales of justice on the side of such rights, enjoying as they do precedence and primacy. Clearly then, to the extent that there may be inconsistencies between this resolution and that of Navarro v. Villegas, that case is pro tanto modified. So it was made clear in the original resolution of October 25, 1983."[8]
As shown both in the manifestation and the answer, this action for mandamus could have been obviated if only petitioner took the trouble of verifying on November 23 whether or not a permit had been issued. A party desirous of exercising the right to peaceable assembly should be the one most interested in ascertaining the action taken on a request for a permit. Necessarily, after a reasonable time or, if the day and time was designated for the decision on the request, such party or his representative should be at the office of the public official concerned. If he fails to do so, a copy of the decision reached, whether adverse or favorable, should be sent to the address of petitioner. In that way, there need not be waste of time and effort not only of the litigants but likewise of a court from which redress is sought in case of a denial or modification of a request for a permit.
Lately, several petitions of this character have been filed with this Court. It could be due to the lack of knowledge of the guidelines set forth in the extended opinion. Steps have been taken to send the Regional Trial judges copies thereof. In the future, therefore, without precluding the filing of petitions directly with this Court, the interest of justice and of public convenience would be better served if litigation starts on the trial court level.
While, therefore, this petition should be dismissed, the Court deems it best to set forth the above to specify in more detail, the steps necessary for the judicial protection of constitutional rights with the least delay and inconvenience to the parties and with the greater assurance that the factual background on which is dependent the determination of whether or not the clear and present danger standard has been satisfied. Lastly, a certiorari petition to this Court is likewise available to the losing party.
WHEREFORE, as prayed for, this case is dismissed.
Makasiar, Aquino, Guerrero, Abad Santos, De Castro, Melencio-Herrera, Plana, Escolin, Relova and Gutierrez, Jr., JJ., concur.
Teehankee, J., concurs in a separate opinion.
Concepcion Jr., J., files separate opinion.
[1] Petition, III, par. 4.
[2] G.R. No. 65366, October 25, 1983.
[3] Petition, par. 8.
[4] Resolution of this Court dated November 29, 1983.
[5] Manifestation of Respondent Mayor, 1-2.
[6] Annex B lo Manifestation of Respondent.
[7] Motion to Withdraw Petition, 1.
[8] J.B.L. Reyes v. Bagatsing, G.R. No. 65366, November 9. 1983, 14-15.