KNIGHTS OF RIZAL vs. DMCI HOMES, INC., et.al.

G.R. No. 213948 EN BANC, April 18, 2017

FACTS:

A Resolution was issued to temporarily suspend the building permit of DMCI-PDI, citing that the Torre de
Manila Condo will rise up high above the back of the national monument, to clearly dwarf the statue of
our hero, Jose Rizal, and would certainly ruin the line of sight of the Rizal Shrine from the frontal Roxas
Boulevard vantage point.

ISSUE:

Whether or not the Court can issue a writ of mandamus to stop the construction of DMCI-PDI’s Torre de
Manila project.

(A writ of mandamus is an order from a court to an inferior government official ordering the
government official to properly fulfill their official duties or correct an abuse of discretion.)

RULING:

No. There is no law prohibiting the construction of the Torre de Manila. The Court has allowed or upheld
actions that were not expressly prohibited by statutes when it determined that these acts were not
contrary to morals, customs, and public order, or that upholding the same would lead to a more
equitable solution to the controversy.

There is no allegation or proof that the Torre de Manila project is “contrary to morals, customs, and
public order” or that it brings harm, danger, or hazard to the community. There is no law prohibiting the
construction of the Torre de Manila due to its effect on the background “view, vista, sightline, or setting”
of the Rizal Monument.