Source: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/279/139/
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 04:27:23+00:00

Document:
1. A judgment of the Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands based upon a construction of an Act of the Philippine Legislature, which construction was in turn based upon a construction of the Organic Act, is reviewable by this Court under § 7 of the Act of Congress of February 13, 1925, providing that a certiorari may issue to that court in any case "wherein the Constitution or any statute or treaty of the United States is involved." P. 279 U. S. 142.
2. The Court takes judicial notice of the fact that the power of the Governor General of the Philippines to remove, suspend, or transfer justices of the peace and to merge their districts is intended for the prevention of abuses of their offices resulting from the ease with which their authority lends itself to the creation of caciques, or local bosses, exercising oppressive control over ignorant neighborhoods. P. 279 U. S. 147.
3. Act No. 2768 of the Philippine Legislature, amending § 206 of the Administrative Code by providing "that, in case the public interest requires it, a justice of the peace of one municipality may be transferred to another," intends, as its legislative history proves, that such transfer may be made by the Governor General without the advice and consent of the Philippine Senate. P. 279 U. S. 147.
4. In view of the plenary legislative powers of the Philippine Legislature respecting justices of the peace, this provision is valid, as applied to a justice of the peace whose appointment was made by the Governor General, and confirmed by the Senate, after its enactment. P. 279 U. S. 148.
5. The principle of preserving the independence of the judiciary applies less strictly to justices of the peace than to judges of superior court jurisdiction. P. 279 U. S. 150.
Certiorari, 278 U.S. 593, to review a judgment of the Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands ousting the present petitioner from his office as justice of the peace of the municipality of Angat, Province of Bulacan, and placing the respondent in possession of it.
of the Governor-General to transfer a justice of the peace from one municipality to another without the consent of the Philippine Senate.
After issue made, the parties, through their counsel, signed a stipulation of facts from which it appears that, on February 9, 1920, the plaintiff was appointed a justice of the peace of Angat, Bulacan, by the Governor-General with the advice and consent of the Philippine Senate; that he qualified, took possession of, and exercised, the office on and since February 14, 1920, up to August 19, 1927, when he was forced to surrender its possession to the defendant. On February 28, 1918, the defendant was appointed justice of the peace of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, by the Governor-General, with the advice and consent of the Senate; he qualified for and exercised the office since then up to August 19, 1927, when, pursuant to an order transferring him to the office of justice of the peace of Angat, Bulacan, he exercised, and has since exercised, the latter office. There was a proceeding by the municipal president of Angat against the plaintiff, which was investigated by the judge of first instance of Bulacan, resulting in a report which disclosed unsatisfactory conditions and political partisanship, but with which the president of Angat was not content because the plaintiff was not removed. The matter was appealed to the Secretary of Justice. Thereafter, on July 2, 1927, the Governor-General transferred the plaintiff from Angat to San Jose del Monte, and also transferred the defendant to the municipality of Angat. There were protests by plaintiff against the transfer and applications by him for reconsideration, and finally, through proceedings before the Court of First Instance of Bulacan, the plaintiff yielded up his office under protest on August 19, 1927, and since that time the defendant has exercised the office of justice of the peace of Angat, excluding the plaintiff therefrom.
The Supreme Court, after the hearing, rendered an opinion by a vote of six judges to three granting against Alberto a judgment of ouster, to which an application for certiorari to this Court has been duly made and granted. 278 U.S. 593.
Our jurisdiction in this case is questioned. The Act of February 13, 1925, § 7, c. 229, 43 Stat. 940, provides that a certiorari may be issued by this Court to the Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands in any case "wherein the Constitution or any statute or treaty of the United States is involved." The effect of the Philippine Organic Act of Congress, approved August 29, 1916, by § 21, c. 416; 39 Stat. 545, 552, is that an appointment of a justice of the peace by the Governor-General must be consented to by the Senate of the Islands. Section 206 of the Philippine Administrative Code of 1917, as amended by Act 2768, approved March 5, 1918, enacts a proviso that, "in case the public interest requires it, a justice of the peace of one municipality may be transferred to another." The point in question is whether that proviso is to be construed as impliedly requiring the consent of the Philippine Senate to the transfer, or whether it was intended to avoid that necessity.
"The body of the section sanctions the holding of office by justices of the peace during good behavior. The proviso qualifies this by providing 'that, in case the public interest requires it, a justice of the peace of one municipality may be transferred to another.' At once it is noted that the law is silent as to the office or entity which may make the transfer. The law does not say may be transferred 'by the Governor-General.' The insertion of the words 'by the Philippine Senate' would be as justifiable.
The more reasonable inference -- indeed, the only possible legal inference permissible without violating the Constitution -- is that the justice of the peace may be transferred by the exercise of the appointing power, and the appointing power consists of the Governor-General acting in conjunction with the Philippine Senate."
In other words, the interpretation that the court gives to the amended law, with the proviso, depends clearly on what the court calls the Constitution -- that is, on the Organic Act -- and therefore, even if its construction of the proviso of § 206 could be sustained, it still involved the Organic Act. We have jurisdiction.
In order to understand the scope of this case, we should point out that the Organic Act provides, by §§ 6, 7, 8, and 12, that the laws then in force in the Philippines were to remain in effect, except as altered by the Act itself, until altered, amended or repealed by the legislative authority provided, in the Act, or by an Act of Congress; that the legislative authority therein provided had power. When not inconsistent with the Act, to amend, alter, modify or repeal any law, civil or criminal, continued in force by the Act as it might see fit, and that the general legislative powers in the Philippines, except as otherwise provided in the Act, were vested in the Philippine Legislature, consisting of an Assembly and a Senate.
not inconsistent with the provisions of the Act, and that he should be responsible for the faithful execution of the laws of the Philippine Islands and of the United States operative within those Islands; that all executive functions of the government must be directly under the Governor-General, or within one of the executive departments under the supervision and control of the Governor-General. Springer v. Philippine Islands, 277 U. S. 189.
After the passage of the Organic Act of 1916, it became necessary to revise the Administrative Code so as to make it conform to the Organic Act, and it is that Code of 1917, with such amendments as have been made by the legislature, that is now the existing law.
"Sec. 235. Appointment and distribution of justices of the peace. -- One justice of the peace and one auxiliary justice of the peace shall be appointed by the Governor General for the City of Manila, and City of Baguio, and for each municipality, township, and municipal district in the Philippine Islands."
"Sec 238. Tenure of office. -- A justice of the peace having the requisite legal qualifications shall hold office during good behavior unless his office be lawfully abolished or merged in the jurisdiction of some other justice."
"Sec. 206. Tenure of office -- Transfer from one municipality to another. -- A justice of the peace having the requisite legal qualifications shall hold office during good behavior unless his office be lawfully abolished or merged in the jurisdiction of some other justice: Provided, that in case the public interest requires it, a justice of the peace of one municipality may be transferred to another."
Section 220 and 221 provide for salaries of justices of the peace in municipalities of the first class, second class, third class and fourth class, in other places not now specially provided for by law, and in provincial capitals.
Section 222 provides for payment of the salaries of justices of the peace out of insular funds.
Section 228 provides that the judges of the courts of first instance shall at all times exercise a supervision over the justices of the peace within their respective districts, and shall keep themselves informed of the manner in which these justices perform their duties, and, during the first five days of the fiscal year, the justices shall forward to the judges of their respective districts a report concerning the business done in their courts for the previous year.
may, upon such recommendation or on his own motion, remove from office any justice of the peace or auxiliary justice of the peace.
"Upon the recommendation of the department head, the territorial jurisdiction of any justice and auxiliary justice of the peace may be made to extend over any number of municipalities, townships, municipal districts, or other minor political divisions or places not included in the jurisdiction of a justice of the peace already appointed, and, upon like recommendation of the department head, the Governor-General may combine the offices of justices of the peace for two or more such jurisdictions already established, and may appoint to the combined jurisdiction one justice of the peace and one auxiliary justice at a salary not to exceed seventy-five percentum of the sum of the salaries of the combined positions."
"When a new political division affecting the territorial jurisdiction of a justice of the peace is formed or the boundaries limiting the same are changed, the Governor-General, may, in the absence of special provision, designate which of the justices and auxiliary justices within the territory affected by the change shall continue in office, and the powers of any other therein shall cease."
provisions indicate how marked a difference there is and must be between the justices of the peace under our system and that of the Philippines. With respect to this matter, we may take judicial notice that, while the justices of the peace are to be treated as an important force for the preservation of local order and the administration of police court justice, they are subject to restraint by the Governor-General to prevent the abuses of their offices by the ease with which such local official authority lends itself in the Islands to the creation of caciques or local bosses exercising oppressive control over ignorant neighborhoods. This is the reason why their conduct is not only to be closely inquired into by the courts of first instance, but also why the Governor-General is given absolute power of removal or suspension and the enlargement or restriction of their districts by merging them, and now, in this last amendment, by rearranging their jurisdictions by transfer in the public interest.
The objection now is made that, while, through the Governor-General, the districts under existing justices of the peace may be merged, combined, increased, or decreased, an existing justice of the peace may not be transferred from one district to another unless there is a new appointment of a justice with a new consent by the Senate.
the bill passed the Senate. When the bill came to the House, the House committee recommended that the amendment made in the Senate be dropped. It so passed the House, and was then, on February 8, 1918, submitted to the Senate, and the amendment of the House was accepted. A purpose on the part of the legislature to eliminate from such a transfer the consent of the Senate could hardly be more clearly established.
The majority of the Supreme Court seems to think otherwise. It is sufficient to say that its suggested implication that the consent of the Senate was to be retained, although express provision for it was expressly stricken out, is not convincing. Nor is the significance attached by the majority of the Supreme Court to the silence of the proviso as to the person intended to make the transfer at all impressive. Nor will the suggestion that the Philippine Senate alone might be intended to make the transfer suffice. The history of the legislation, as well as the general trend of it with reference to the powers of the Governor-General in the discipline of justices of the peace, their suspension, their removal, the current extension of their jurisdiction by him pending their incumbency, all are convincing that, however invalid the exclusion of the Senate from the consent to the transfer, the purpose of the legislature was certainly intended to effect that very result.
of the consent to the original appointment. Such an extension of his duties is of the same kind as those provided before the proviso was enacted in respect to the merging of districts, their enlargement, or their combination by uniting one district with another under the existing justice of the peace. See Shoemaker v. United States, 147 U. S. 282, 147 U. S. 301; Southern Pacific Co. v. Bartine, 170 F. 725, 748.
It is constantly to be borne in mind that this whole subject matter in respect to the institution of justices of the peace as part of the government structure in the Philippines is wholly within the control of the legislature. If what they provide results in greater control by the Governor-General than is wise, the legislature may repeal the provisions tomorrow and substitute some other limitations.
Some general observations were made by the Supreme Court with reference to the necessity of maintaining the independence of the judiciary, and expressions of opinion that this independence should be preserved strictly, as it should be with respect to judges of superior court jurisdiction. It has always been recognized that justices of the peace, even in our system, are of less importance in the judiciary, and must be made to conform to greater regulation than the judges of higher courts. Capital Traction Co. v. Hof, 174 U. S. 1, 174 U. S. 17, 174 U. S. 38. Justices of the peace are judicial officers, it is true, but they are much to be differentiated from judges of the courts of record. We do not think, therefore, that the case of Borromeo v. Mariano, 41 Phil. 322, with reference to the transfer and removal of a judge of the court of first instance, has application here.

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