People vs vera (consti law)

Cu Unjieng was convicted by the trial court in Manila. He filed for reconsideration which
was elevated to the SC and the SC remanded the appeal to the lower court for a new trial.
While awaiting new trial, he appealed for probation alleging that the he is innocent of the
crime he was convicted of. Judge Tuason of the Manila CFI directed the appeal to the
Insular Probation Office. The IPO denied the application. However, Judge Vera upon
another request by petitioner allowed the petition to be set for hearing. The City Prosecutor
countered alleging that Vera has no power to place Cu Unjieng under probation because it
is in violation of Sec. 11 Act No. 4221 which provides that the act of Legislature granting
provincial boards the power to provide a system of probation to convicted person. Nowhere
in the law is stated that the law is applicable to a city like Manila because it is only indicated
therein that only provinces are covered. And even if Manila is covered by the law it is
unconstitutional because Sec 1 Art 3 of the Constitution provides equal protection of laws.
The said law provides absolute discretion to provincial boards and this also constitutes
undue delegation of power. Further, the said probation law may be an encroachment of the
power of the executive to provide pardon because providing probation, in effect, is granting
freedom, as in pardon.
ISSUE: W/N People of the philippines, represented by the solicitor general and the fiscal of
the city of manila is the proper party to file the case.
HELD: Yes, the unchallenge rule is that the person who impugns the validity of a statute
must have a personal substantial interest in the case such that he has sustained, or will
sustain, direct injury as a result of its enforcement. It goes without saying that if Act No.
4221 really violates the constitution, the people of the philippines, in whose name the
presented action is brought, has a substantial interest in having it set a side. The well-
settled rule that the state can challenge the validity of its own laws.