Bermoy v. Philippine Normal College

G.R. No. L-8670, May 18, 1956

EUTIQUIO BERMOY, ET AL., PLAINTIFFSAPPELLANTS, V.S. PHILIPPINE NORMAL COLLEGE, ET AL. DEFENDANTS-APPELLEES. DECISION REYE EYES, A., J.: J.:

On Jul July 6, 1954, twe twenty nty employe oyees of the Phili hilip ppine ine Norma rmal Coll Colleege, who were were work workin ing g as cook cooks, s, wait waiter ers, s, dish dishwa wash sher er,, and and in vari variou ouss othe otherr cap capac acit itie iess in its dormitory known as Normal Hall, filed an action in the Court of First Instance of Manila against the said Philippine Normal College and/or  Phil Philip ippi pine ne Norm Normal al Scho School ol for for the the reco recove very ry of sala salary ry diff differ eren enti tial alss and and over overti time me  pay. ay . The Solic Solicito itorr Genera Generall filed filed an answer answer on behalf behalf of the defe defend ndan ants ts denying the latter" s liability. But before the case was tried on the merits, the court orde rdered red it dismi smisse ssed on the the ground that neith ither one of the defen fendants was a corporation or a juridical entity with capacity to be sued. Rec Reconsi onside dera rati tion on of this this orde orderr havi having ng been been den denied, ied, plai plaint ntif iffs fs took took this this appe appeal al to this Court, alleging that It was error to dismiss their case on the ground mentioned. The The appe appeal al is, is, in cur cur opin opinio ion, n, meri merito tori riou ous. s. Republic Act No. 416, which took effect In July., 1949, converted the old Phil Philip ippi pine ne Norma ormall Scho School ol into into the the pres presen entt Phil Philip ippi pine ne Norm Normal al Coll Colleg egee and and endowed it with the "general powers set out In section thirteen of Act  Numb umber ered ed Four Fourte teen en hund hundre red d and and fifty-nine, as amen amende ded" d" (Cor (Corpo pora rati tion on Law) Law)., ., entr entrus usti ting ng Its Its gove govern rnme ment nt and and the the admi admini nist stra rati tion on of its its affa affair irss to a  boar oard d of trus truste tees es ther therei ein n crea create ted, d, whic which h was was to exer exerci cise se for for It "all "all the the powe powers rs Page 1 of 2

of a corporation as provided in (said) section,” and in particular, “to administer and appropriate the funds of Normal Hill and to supervise and control its income and expenses, all provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding." One of the powers specifically enumerated in the said section. 13 of                  the Corporation Law is the power "to sue and be sued in any.court." With this express grant of power, we don't see how it could be doubted that the Philippine Normal College could be made a defendant in a suit in court. The Solicitor General admits that the Philippine Normal College has a uridical personality of its own, but contends that, as it is an Instrumentality of government for the discharge of state functions, it may not be sued without the consent of the state. The answer to that contention is that the state has already given that consent by investing the College with the express power to be sued in courts That the Act Authorizes the College to be sued is also made clear in section 6, where it is provided that "all process against the Board of Trustees shall be served on the President or secretary thereof," Wherefore, the order appealed from is revoked and the case remanded to the court of origin for further proceedings. No costs. aras, C.J., Bengzon, Padilla, Montemayor, Reyes, A., Jugo, Bautista ngelo, Labrador, Concepcion, Reyes, J.B.L., and  Endencia, JJ., concur.

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