G.R. Nos. 190266-67 - CITY OF BATANGAS, REPRESENTED BY HON. EDUARDO B. DIMACUHA, IN HIS CAPACITY AS THE MAYOR OF BATANGAS CITY, VS. JG SUMMIT PETROCHEMICAL CORPORATION AND FIRST GAS POWER CORPORATION AND FGP CORPORATION.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

Accordingly, we conclude that since the word "gambling" is associated with "and other prohibited games of chance," the word should be read as referring to only illegal gambling which, like the other prohibited games of chance, must be prevented or suppressed. .... The rationale of the requirement that the ordinances should not contravene a statute is obvious. Municipal governments are only agents of the national government. Local councils exercise only delegated legislative powers conferred on them by Congress as the national lawmaking body. The delegate cannot be superior to the principal or exercise powers higher than those of the latter. It is a heresy to suggest that the local government units can undo the acts of Congress, from which they have derived their power in the first place, and negate by mere ordinance the mandate of the statute. [66] This Court arrived at a similar ruling with respect to the regulation of cable television systems. In Batangas CATV, Inc. v. Court of Appeals , [67] likewise involving the Sangguniang Panlungsod of the City of Batangas, the city council issued Resolution No. 210 granting Batangas CATV, Inc. a permit to operate its cable television business in Batangas City. When the cable television company increased its rates, the Sangguniang Panlungsod threatened to cancel the permit, citing Resolution No. 210 on the requirement of prior approval by the city council. This caused Batangas CATV, Inc. to petition the court for a writ of injunction, ultimately granted because the authority to regulate cable televisions in the Philippines solely belonged to the national government. Specifically, pursuant to Executive Order No. 205, only the National Telecommunications Commission may regulate the operations of cable television systems, especially since the cable television industry is highly technical and requires a highly specialized agency as a regulator. On point is this Court's decision in City of Batangas v. Philippine Shell Petroleum Corporation , [68] invalidating the ordinance assailed in this case. According to this Court, the City of Batangas arrogated unto itself the power to regulate the use of water when it issued Ordinance No. 3, Series of 2001. This power exclusively belonged to the State, through the National Water Resources Board, pursuant to the Water Code of the Philippines. The ruling in Shell Petroleum Corporation is quoted extensively below: The Assailed Ordinance is void for being ultra vires, for being contrary to existing law, and for lack of evidence showing the existence of factual basis for its enactment. The requisites for a valid ordinance are well established. Time and again, the Court has ruled that in order for an ordinance to be valid, it must not only be within the corporate powers of the concerned LGU to enact, but must also be passed in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law. Moreover, substantively, the ordinance (i) must not contravene the Constitution or any statute; (ii) mu