SOCIAL JUSTICE SOCIETY (SJS), VLADIMIR CABIGAO, and BONIFACIO TUMBOKON VS.
 June 26, 2002: City of Manila and Department of Energy entered into a memorandum
HON. JOSE ATIENZA, JR., in his capacity as Mayor of the City of Manila
G.R. NO. 156052 | March 7, 2007 | Corona, J.
EMERGENCY RECIT:
Sangguniang Panlungsod of Manila enacted Ordinance No. 8027 which reclassified portions of
land within Pasig from Industrial II to Commercial I which affected the oil companies constituting
the “Pandacan Terminals” and ordered the owners of the same to cease and desist from
operation. Said ordinance was approved by Mayor Atienza and became effective in December
28, 2001. City of Manila and DOE entered into a MOU with the oil companies allowing them to
continuously operate in compliance with the legal requirements within the limited area. Said
MOU was ratified by the Sangguniang Panlungsod in a resolution which limited the effectivity of
the same to a period of six months from July 2002. Another resolution was made in order to
extend the validity of the resolution. SJS filed a mandamus to compel Mayor Atienza to enforce
the ordinance and remove the terminals of oil companies. The Court held that Mayor Atienza
has the authority to enforce Ordinance No. 8027 pursuant to the LGC which imposes the said
ministerial duty to the city mayor. Further, it was ruled that the subsequent resolutions did not
hinder the city mayor from enforcing the ordinance.
FACTS:
 November 20, 2001: Sangguniang Panlungsod of Manila enacted Ordinance No. 8027
entitled, “Ordinance Reclassifying the Land Use of [Those] Portions of Land Bounded
by the Pasig River In The North[,] PNR Railroad Track in the East, Beata St. in the
South, Palumpong St. in the Southwest and Estero De Pandacan in the West, PNR
Railroad in the Northwest Area, Estero of Pandacan in the Northeast, Pasig River in
the Southeast and Dr. M. L. Carreon in the Southwest; the Area of Punta, Sta. Ana
Bounded by the Pasig River, Marcelino Obrero St.[,] Mayo 28 St. and the F. Manalo
Street from Industrial II to Commercial I”
o Among the businesses situated in the area are oil companies such as
Caltex Philippines, Petron Corporation, and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum
Corporation.
 November 28, 2001: Said ordinance was approved by the Mayor (Jose Atienza) and
became effective in December of the same year, after its publication.
o Said ordinance was enacted pursuant to the police power that was
delegated to the local government units, which allows the government to
enact laws within the constitutional limits, to promote the order, safety,
health, morals, and general welfare of the society.
 Section 11 of the said ordinance pertained to the mandate reclassifying the area
described from Industrial II to Commercial I.
 Section 32 pertained to the order for the owners and operators of the businesses
disallowed pursuant to the reclassification, to cease and desist from operating their
business within six (6) months from the date of effectivity of the ordinance.
1 SECTION 1. For the purpose of promoting sound urban planning and ensuring health, public safety, and general
welfare of the residents of Pandacan and Sta. Ana as well as its adjoining areas, the land use of [those] portions of
land bounded by the Pasig River in the north, PNR Railroad Track in the east, Beata St. in the south, Palumpong St. in
the southwest, and Estero de Pancacan in the west[,] PNR Railroad in the northwest area, Estero de Pandacan in the
[n]ortheast, Pasig River in the southeast and Dr. M.L. Carreon in the southwest. The area of Punta, Sta. Ana bounded
by the Pasig River, Marcelino Obrero St., Mayo 28 St., and F. Manalo Street, are hereby reclassified from Industrial II
to Commercial I.
2 SECTION 3. Owners or operators of industries and other businesses, the operation of which are no longer
permitted under Section 1 hereof, are hereby given a period of six (6) months from the date of effectivity of this
Ordinance within which to cease and desist from the operation of businesses which are hereby in consequence,
disallowed.
of understanding with the oil companies stating that the scaling down of the said
corporations was the most viable and practical option.
 Under the said memorandum, the oil companies agreed to undertake a program in
order to scale down the said “Pandacan Terminals”, establish a joint operations and
management consistent with international standards, and develop safety and green
buffer zones to be taken from the properties of the oil companies.
 The City of Manila and the DOE on the other hand, committed to allow the oil
companies to continuously operate in compliance with legal requirements, within the
limited area resulting from the joint operations and the scale down program, as well as
to ensure the protection of the safety buffer and green zones, and prevent future
occupation of unauthorized parties to he said areas.
 The Sangguniang Panlungsod ratified the memorandum of Understanding in
Resolution No. 97 which also indicated that the said MOU will only be effective for a
period of six months from July 25, 2002.
 January 30, 2003: Sangguinan adopter Reslution No. 13 extended the validity of
Resolution No. 97 to April 30, 2003, authorized Mayor Atienza to issue special
business permits to the oil companies, and called for a reassessment of the
ordinance.
 Petitioners filed this petition for mandamus to compel Mayor Atienza to enforce
Ordinance No. 8027 and order for the immediate removal of the terminals of the oil
companies.
ISSUE/S:
1. Whether the respondent (Mayor Atienza) has the mandatory legal duty to enforce
Ordinance No. 8027 and order the removal of the Pandacan Terminals. – YES.
2. Whether the Memorandum of Understanding and resolutions ratifying it can amend or
repeal Ordinance No. 8027. – NO.
HELD:
I. Mayor Atienza, as mayor of the City of Manila can enforce and/or enact Ordinance No.
8027.
The Local Government Code imposes upon respondent the duty, as city mayor,
to "enforce all laws and ordinances relative to the governance of the city." One of these is
Ordinance No. 8027. As the chief executive of the city, he has the duty to enforce Ordinance No.
8027 as long as it has not been repealed by the Sanggunian or annulled by the courts. He has
no other choice. It is his ministerial duty to do so. In Dimaporo v. Mitra, Jr., we stated the
reason for this:
These officers cannot refuse to perform their duty on the ground of an alleged
invalidity of the statute imposing the duty. The reason for this is obvious. It might seriously
hinder the transaction of public business if these officers were to be permitted in all
cases to question the constitutionality of statutes and ordinances imposing duties upon
them and which have not judicially been declared unconstitutional. Officers of the
government from the highest to the lowest are creatures of the law and are bound to obey it.
II. The Memorandum of Understanding and subsequent resolutions did not invalidate the
duty of City of Manila to enforce Ordinance No. 8027.
Assuming that the terms of the MOU were inconsistent with Ordinance No. 8027, the
resolutions which ratified it and made it binding on the City of Manila expressly gave it full force
and effect only until April 30, 2003. Thus, at present, there is nothing that legally hinders
respondent from enforcing Ordinance No. 8027.
Ordinance No. 8027 was enacted right after the Philippines, along with the rest of the
world, witnessed the horror of the September 11, 2001 attack on the Twin Towers of the World
Trade Center in New York City. The objective of the ordinance is to protect the residents of
Manila from the catastrophic devastation that will surely occur in case of a terrorist attack  on the
Pandacan Terminals. No reason exists why such a protective measure should be delayed.
WHEREFORE, the petition is hereby GRANTED. Respondent Hon. Jose L. Atienza, Jr., as
mayor of the City of Manila, is directed to immediately enforce Ordinance No. 8027. SO
ORDERED.