Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Beltran v. Secretary of Health
Beltran v. Secretary of Health
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G.R. No. 133640. November 25, 2005.
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* EN BANC.
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(b) must be germane to the purpose of the law; (c) must not be
limited to existing conditions only; and, (d) must apply equally to
each member of the class.
Same; Same; Same; Same; The classification made by the
National Blood Services Act of 1994 between nonprofit blood banks
or centers and commercial blood banks is valid and reasonable.—
Based on the foregoing, the Legislature never intended for the law
to create
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blood banks but their interests must give way to serve a higher end
for the interest of the public.—The promotion of public health is a
fundamental obligation of the State. The health of the people is a
primordial governmental concern. Basically, the National Blood
Services Act was enacted in the exercise of the State’s police
power in order to promote and preserve public health and safety.
Police power of the state is validly exercised if (a) the interest of
the public generally, as distinguished from those of a particular
class, requires the interference of the State; and, (b) the means
employed are reasonably necessary to the attainment of the
objective sought to be accomplished and not unduly
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contracts and all rights are subject to the police power of the State
and not only may regulations which affect them be established by
the State, but all such regulations must be subject to change from
time to time, as the general well-being of the community may
require, or as the circumstances may change, or as experience
may demonstrate the necessity. This doctrine was reiterated in
the case of Vda. de Genuino v. Court of Agrarian Relations where
the Court held that individual rights to contract and to property
have to give way to police power exercised for public welfare.
Same; Same; Same; Separation of Powers; Judicial Review;
The wisdom of the Legislature in the lawful exercise of its power to
enact laws cannot be inquired into by the Court—doing so would
be in derogation of the principle of separation of powers; Between
“is” and “ought” there is a far cry.—As for determining whether or
not the shutdown of commercial blood banks will truly serve the
general public considering the shortage of blood supply in the
country as proffered by petitioners, we maintain that the wisdom
of the Legislature in the lawful exercise of its power to enact laws
cannot be inquired into by the Court. Doing so would be in
derogation of the principle of separation of powers. That, under
the circumstances, proper regulation of all blood banks without
distinction in order to achieve the objective of the law as
contended by petitioners is, of course, possible; but, this would be
arguing on what the law may be or should be and not what the
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law is. Between is and ought there is a far cry. The wisdom and
propriety of legislation is not for this Court to pass upon.
Courts; Contempt; Words and Phrases; Contempt of court
presupposes a contumacious attitude, a flouting or arrogant
belligerence in defiance of the court.—With regard to the petition
for contempt in G.R. No. 139147, on the other hand, the Court
finds respondent Secretary of Health’s explanation satisfactory.
The statements in the flyers and posters were not aimed at
influencing or threatening the Court in deciding in favor of the
constitutionality of the law. Contempt of court presupposes a
contumacious attitude, a flouting or arrogant belligerence in
defiance of the court. There is nothing contemptuous about the
statements and information contained in the health advisory that
were distributed by DOH before the TRO was issued by this Court
ordering the former to cease and desist from distributing the
same.
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AZCUNA, J.:
1
G.R. No. 133640, entitled “Rodolfo S. Beltran, doing
business under the name and style, Our Lady of Fatima
Blood Bank, 2 et al., vs. The Secretary of Health” and G.R.
No. 133661, entitled “Doctors Blood Bank Center vs.
Department of Health” are petitions for certiorari and
mandamus, respectively, seeking the annulment of the
following: (1) Section 7 of Republic Act No. 7719; and, (2)
Administrative Order (A.O.) No. 9, series of 1995. Both
petitions likewise pray for the issuance of a writ of
prohibitory injunction enjoining the Secretary of Health
from implementing and enforcing the aforementioned law
and its Implementing Rules and Regulations; and, for a
mandatory injunction ordering and commanding the
Secretary of Health to grant, issue or renew petitioners’
license to operate free standing blood banks (FSBB).
The above cases were consolidated3
in a resolution of the
Court En Banc dated4 June 2, 1998.
G.R. No. 139147, entitled “Rodolfo S. Beltran, doing
business under the name and style, Our Lady of Fatima
Blood Bank, et al., vs. The Secretary of Health,” on the
other hand, is a petition to show cause why respondent
Secretary of Health should not be held in contempt of court.
This case was originally assigned to the Third Division
of this Court and later consolidated with G.R. Nos.5
133640
and 133661 in a resolution dated August 4, 1999.
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13 Id., at p. 100.
14 Id., at pp. 49-51.
15 Rollo (G.R. No. 133640), p. 59.
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of these donors are poor, and often they are students, who
need cash immediately. Since they need the money, these
donors are not usually honest about their medical or social
history. Thus, blood from healthy, voluntary donors who
give their true medical and social history are16 about three
times much safer than blood from paid donors.
What the study also found alarming is that many
Filipino doctors are not yet fully trained on the specific
indications for blood component transfusion. They are not
aware of the lack of blood supply and do not feel the need to
adjust their practices and use of blood and blood products.
It also
17
does not matter to them where the blood comes
from.
On August 23, 1994, the National Blood Services Act
providing for the phase out of commercial blood banks took
effect. On April 28, 1995, Administrative Order No. 9,
Series of 1995, constituting the Implementing Rules and
Regulations of said law was promulgated by DOH.
The phase-out period was extended for two years by the
DOH pursuant to Section 7 of Republic Act No. 7719 and
Section 23 of its Implementing Rules and Regulations.
Pursuant to said Act, all commercial blood banks should
have been phased out by May 28, 1998. Hence, petitioners
were granted by the Secretary of Health their licenses to
open and operate a blood bank only until May 27, 1998.
On May 20, 1998, prior to the expiration of the licenses
granted to petitioners, they filed a petition for certiorari
with application for the issuance of a writ of preliminary
injunction or temporary restraining order under Rule 65 of
the Rules of Court assailing the constitutionality and
validity of the aforementioned Act and its Implementing
Rules and Regulations. The case was entitled “Rodolfo S.
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16 Id.
17 Id.
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...
Senator Mercado: Today, across the country, hundreds of
poverty-stricken, sickly and weak Filipinos, who, unemployed,
without hope and without money to buy the next meal, will walk
into a commercial blood bank, extend their arms and plead that
their blood be bought. They will lie about their age, their medical
history. They will lie about when they last sold their blood. For
doing this, they will receive close to a hundred pesos. This may
tide them over for the next few days. Of course, until the next
bloodletting.
This same blood will travel to the posh city hospitals and
urbane medical centers. This same blood will now be bought by
the rich at a price over 500% of the value for which it was sold.
Between this buying and selling, obviously, someone has made a
very fast buck.
Every doctor has handled at least one transfusion-related
disease in an otherwise normal patient. Patients come in for
minor surgery of the hand or whatever and they leave with
hepatitis B. A patient comes in for an appendectomy and he
leaves with malaria. The worst nightmare: A patient comes in for
a Caesarian section and leaves with AIDS.
We do not expect good blood from donors who sell their blood
because of poverty. The humane dimension of blood transfusion is
not in the act of receiving blood, but in the act of giving it. . .
For years, our people have been at the mercy of commercial
blood banks that lobby their interests among medical
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25 Record of the Senate, Vol. IV, No. 59, pp. 286-287; Rollo (G.R. No. 133661),
pp. 115-120.
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for the linen of commercial blood bankers, hook, line and sinker
because it is more convenient to tell the patient to buy blood.
Commercial blood banks hold us hostage to their threat that if
we are to close them down, there will be no blood supply. This is
true if the Government does not step in to ensure that safe supply
of blood. We cannot allow commercial interest groups to dictate
policy on what is and what should be a humanitarian effort. This
cannot and will never work because their interest in blood
donation is merely monetary. We cannot expect commercial blood
banks to take the lead in voluntary blood donation.26 Only the
Government can do it, and the Government must do it.”
and were
28
printed and circulated prior to the issuance of the
TRO.
On July 15, 1999, petitioners in G.R. No. 133640 filed a
Petition to Show Cause Why Public Respondent Should Not
be
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26 Record of the Senate, Volume 1, No. 13, pp. 434-436; Rollo (G.R. No.
133661), pp. 121-123.
27 Rollo (G.R. No. 133640), pp. 227-232.
28 Id., at pp. 406-408.
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33 Id., at p. 50.
34 Id., at pp. 50-51.
35 Id., at pp. 435-495.
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II
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III
IV
VI
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pointee or delegate of the Legislature. Except as to
matters of detail that may be left to be filled in by rules
and regulations to be adopted or promulgated by executive
officers and administrative boards, an act of the
Legislature, as a general rule, is incomplete and hence
invalid if it does not lay down any rule or definite standard
by which the administrative board may be guided 39
in the
exercise of the discretionary powers delegated to it.
Republic Act No. 7719 or the National Blood Services
Act of 1994 is complete in itself. It is clear from the
provisions of the Act that the Legislature intended
primarily to safeguard the health of the people and has
mandated several measures to attain this objective. One of
these is the phase out of commercial blood banks in the
country. The law has sufficiently provided a definite
standard for the guidance of the Secretary of Health in
carrying out its provisions, that is, the promotion of public
health by providing a safe and adequate supply of blood
through voluntary blood donation. By its provisions, it has
conferred the power and authority to the Secretary of
Health as to its execution, to be exercised under and in
pursuance of the law.
Congress may validly delegate to administrative
agencies the authority to promulgate rules and regulations
to implement
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a given legislation and effectuate its
policies. The Secretary of Health has been given, under
Republic Act No. 7719, broad powers to execute the
provisions of said Act. Section 11 of the Act states:
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41 Id., citing Cincinnati, W. & Z.R. Co. v. Clinton County Comrs, 1 Ohio
St., 77, 88 (1852); Cruz v. Youngberg, 56 Phil. 234 (1931).
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42 Rollo (G.R. No. 133640), p. 120; Rollo (G.R. No. 133661), p. 105.
43 People v. Vera, supra.
44 A Final Report on the Project to Evaluate the Safety of the Philippine
Blood Banking System conducted on September 28, 1993– January 15,
1994, Rollo (G.R. No. 133640), Annex “A,” p. 41.
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47 Pita v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 80806, October 5, 1989, 178 SCRA
362.
48 Rollo (G.R. No. 133661), p. 12.
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53 Misolas v. Panga, G.R. No. 83341, January 30, 1990, 181 SCRA 648.
54 People v. Vera, supra.
55 People v. Maceda, G.R. Nos. 89591-96, August 13, 1990, 188 SCRA
532.
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The ground
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for nullity must be clear and beyond reasonable
doubt. Those who petition this Court to declare a law, or
parts thereof, unconstitutional must clearly establish the
basis therefor. Otherwise, the petition must fail.
Based on the grounds raised by petitioners to challenge
the constitutionality of the National Blood Services Act of
1994 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations, the
Court finds that petitioners have failed to overcome the
presumption of constitutionality of the law. As to whether
the Act constitutes a wise legislation, considering the
issues being
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raised by petitioners, is for Congress to
determine.
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No costs.
SO ORDERED.
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——o0o——
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