598. Gonzales vs.

Marcos
FACTS: President Marcos issued Executive Order No. 30, which is a trust that provides for the construction of a
national theater, a national music hall and an arts building and facilities that would be collectively known as
the Cultural Center of the Philippines. The project aimed to promote, preserve, enhance, and develop the
Philippines' cultural heritage. First Lady Imelda Marcos headed the Board of Trustees entrusted in building the
project and they were also the respondents in this petition for certiorari alleging the encroachment of EO 30
on the legislative powers of the executive branch and the question of whether the funds would come from
taxpayers' money. On its defense, respondent claims that, among others, the petitioner did not have the
requisite personality to contest as a taxpayer the validity of the executive order in question, as the funds held
by the Cultural Center came from donations and contributions, not one centavo being raised by taxation.

Issue: Whether or not the petitioner has standing as a taxpayer

Held: No. The funds administered by the President of the Philippines came from donations [and] contributions
[not] by taxation.” Accordingly, there was that absence of the “requisite pecuniary or monetary interest.” The
stand of the lower court finds support in judicial precedents. It is only to make clear that petitioner, judged by
orthodox legal learning, has not satisfied the elemental requisite for a taxpayer’s suit.