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Ruzol v. Sandiganbayan (GR No. 186739)

Ruzol, the mayor of General Nakar, Quezon organized an assembly to regulate the transport of salvaged forest products. The assembly agreed permits would be issued by the mayor's office after fees were paid. Ruzol issued 43 permits while his co-accused issued 178 permits. They were charged with usurping authority. While the co-accused was acquitted, Ruzol was found guilty. The Sandiganbayan ruled the DENR solely had authority to issue permits. However, the Supreme Court ruled (1) LGUs also have authority to issue permits under the LGC to monitor resources in their jurisdiction, as long as they follow the law; and

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74 views2 pages

Ruzol v. Sandiganbayan (GR No. 186739)

Ruzol, the mayor of General Nakar, Quezon organized an assembly to regulate the transport of salvaged forest products. The assembly agreed permits would be issued by the mayor's office after fees were paid. Ruzol issued 43 permits while his co-accused issued 178 permits. They were charged with usurping authority. While the co-accused was acquitted, Ruzol was found guilty. The Sandiganbayan ruled the DENR solely had authority to issue permits. However, the Supreme Court ruled (1) LGUs also have authority to issue permits under the LGC to monitor resources in their jurisdiction, as long as they follow the law; and

Uploaded by

Janine Castro
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Ruzol v.

Sandiganbayan

[GR No. 186739]

Facts:

Ruzol was the mayor of General Nakar, Quezon organized a Multi-Sectoral Consultative Assembly for
regulating and monitoring the transport of salvaged forest products within the vicinity of General Nakar.

During the said assembly, the participants agreed that to regulate the salvaged forests products, the
Office of the Mayor, shall issue a permit to transport after payment of the corresponding fees to the
municipal treasurer

Through such, 221 permits to transport were issued. 43 of which has the signature of Ruzol while 178
was signed by his co-acused Sabiduria, Municipal admin of General Nakar.

on the basis of the issued Permits to Transport, 221 Informations for violation of Art. 177 of the RPC or
for Usurpation of Authority or Official Functions were filed against Ruzol and Sabiduria

Sabiduria was acquitted while Ruzol was found guilty.

Sandiganbayan ruled that the authority to issue transport permits lies with the DENR and that no
authority was mandated for the LGU of General Nakar.

Issues:

Whether or not DENR has the SOLE authority to issue permits to transport

Held:

The petition is partly meritorious.

Whether the Permits to Transport Issued by Ruzol Are Valid, the LGU also has, under the LGC of 1991,
ample authority to promulgate rules, regulations and ordinances to monitor and regulate salvaged
forest products, provided that... the parameters set forth by law for their enactment have been
faithfully complied with.

While the DENR is, indeed, the primary government instrumentality charged with the mandate of
promulgating rules and regulations for the protection of the environment and conservation of natural
resources, it is not the only government instrumentality clothed with such authority.

Whether in ordinary or in legal parlance, the word

"primary" can never be taken to be synonymous with "sole" or "exclusive." In fact, neither the pertinent
provisions of PD 705 nor EO 192 suggest that the DENR, or any of its bureaus, shall exercise such
authority to the exclusion of all other government instrumentalities, i.e., LGUs.

the claim of DENR's supposedly exclusive mandate is easily negated by the principle of local autonomy
enshrined in the 1987 Constitution
To our mind, the requirement of permits to transport salvaged forest products is not a manifestation of
usurpation of DENR's authority but rather an additional measure which was meant to complement
DENR's duty to regulate and monitor forest resources within the LGU's territorial jurisdiction.

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