Caltex vs. Palomar

Case Title: G.R. No. L-19650 (September 29, 1966)
Caltex (Philippines), Inc. vs. Enrico Palomar in his capacity as The Postmaster General

1) Facts

The case before us now is a petition for declaratory relief against Postmaster General Enrico Palomar, parying “that judgment be rendered declaring its ‘Caltex Hooded Pump Contest’ not to be violative of the Postal Law, and ordering respondent to allow petitioner the use of the mails to bring the contest to the attention of the public”.

In 1960, Caltex launched a promotional scheme called “Caltex Hooded Pump Contest� which calls for participants to “estimate the actual number of liters a hooded gas pump at each Caltex station will dispense during a specified period.� The contest is open to all “motor vehicle owners and/or licensed drivres�. There is neither a fee or consideration required nor a purchase required to be made. The forms are available upon request at each Caltex station and there is also a sealed can where accomplished entry stubs may be deposited.

Caltex wishes to use mails amongst the media for publicizing about the contest, thus, Caltex sent representatives to the postal authorities for advance clearing for the use of mails for the contest. However, the postal authorities denied their request in view of sections 1954 (a), 1982, and 1983 of the Revised Administrative Code (Anti-lottery provisions of the Postal Law), which prohibits the use of mail in conveying any information concerning non-mailable schemes, such as lottery, gift enterprise, or similar scheme.

Caltex sought for a reconsideration and stressed that there was no consideration involved in the part of the contestant(s) but the Postmaster General maintained their view and even threatened Caltex that if the contest was conducted, “a fraud order will have to be issued against it (Caltex) and all its representativesâ€?. This leads to Caltex’s filing of this petition for declaratory relief.

The court ruled that the “petitioner does not violate the Postal Law and the respondent has no right to bar the public distribution or said rules by the mails�. The respondent then appealed.

2) Issue(s)

a) Whether or not the petition states a sufficient cause of action for declaratory relief?

b) Whether or not the proposed “Caltex Hooded Pump Contest� violates the Postal Law?

3) Ruling

Recapitulating, we hold that the petition herein states a sufficient cause of action for declaratory relief, and that the “Caltex Hooded Pump Contest” as described in the rules submitted by the appellee does not transgress the provisions of the Postal Law.

ACCORDINGLY, the judgment appealed from is affirmed. No costs.

4) Ratio

Declaratory Relief is the interpretation of several constitutional provisions. Based on Section 1 Rule 63 of the Rules of Court, an action for declaratory relief should be filed by a person interested under a deed, a will, a contract or other written instrument, and whose rights are affected by a statute, an executive order, a regulation or an ordinance.

Requisites for Declaratory Relief:
- There is justiciable controversy
- The controversy is between persons whose interests are adverse
- The party seeking the relief has a legal interest in the controversy
- The issue is ripe for judicial determination

* The “Caltex Hooded Pump Contest� is a mere “gratuitous distribution of property by chance�. It does not qualify as a lottery due to the lack of consideration. An act to be deemed as a lottery must constitute a (1) prize, (2) chance, and (3) consideration. The participants are not required to do anything or purchase anything from Caltex in order to participate in the contest. The true test for having consideration is “whether the participant pays a valuable consideration for the chance, and not whether those conducting the enterprise receive something of value in return for the distribution of the prize.�

*Perspective properly oriented, the standpoint of the contestant is all that matters, not that of the sponsor.

Add comment June 13th, 2007

Pinoy to address Harvard Law graduation

A FILIPINO lawyer taking up his LLM or master’s degree in law at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, will deliver the school’s commencement address on June 7.

Oscar Franklin Barcelona Tan, a graduate of UP Law Class 2005 will address about 700 graduates. He is an associate, on study leave, at the ACCRA law office.

His father, lawyer Edmundo L. Tan of the Tan Acut & Lopez Law firm, had no comment on Franklin’s selection by a select committee, but said, “I will be there in Harvard on June 7 to congratulate personally my son and to share the moment with him.”

His mother, Dr. Jesusa Barcelona Tan, is a dermatology consultant at the Hospital of the Infant Jesus in Sampaloc, head of the photo-dermatology unit, and former chair of the Department of D ermatology at the Jose R. Reyes Medical Center of the Department of Health.

In his draft speech, Oscar urges his 700 fellow graduates to transcend narrow nationalism. “My friends – and this includes our American classmates who will soon lead the world’s lone superpower – let us transcend our individual nationalities and affirm that we are citizens of the world,” he says.

———-

Like Wine in the River, Like Citizens of the World
Harvard Law School 2007 Student Commencement Address
Oscar Franklin Barcelona Tan (Philippines)

Dean Kagan, Vice-Dean Alford, professors, classmates, families, and friends. Let me first thank our tireless graduate program staff. They were the first friendly faces who greeted me, told me which functions offered free food, and what to do if you faint during your final exams. Assistant Dean Jeanne Tai, Nancy Pinn, Heather Wallick, Curtis Morrow, Jane Bestor, Chris Nepple, April Stockfleet: This year would not have been possible without you.

But this goes to everyone: Thank you all for truly making us feel part of this community. We LLMs became your fellow students after your Salsa Party, Chinese and Korean New Year, African Night, and our International Party. To honor you, we took Europe by storm, winning in the inaugural Negotiation Challenge, in the European Law Moot Court, and in the Willem Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court. Of course, you truly become part of Harvard Law School when you’re featured in the Parody.

Not so long ago, Cambridge seemed a strange, unfriendly place especially when I first saw Gropius. I went to John Harvard’s with the British, who began chittering in an alien language. I lat er discovered it was actually English — the real English. I complained I was not used to cold, but a Saudi Arabian reminded me that you can fry eggs on a sidewalk in Riyadh. An Italian gave me tips on women because Italian men are the world’s greatest lovers, with the disclaimer that their style does not work on American women. A Malaysian was asked to
explain the religious significance of the color of her hijab, or headscarf. She would answer: It had to match her blouse.

Soon, we found that great substance that keeps any law school together: alcohol. On New Year’s Eve, a Belarusian handed me a glass of vodka, but scolded me when I began to sip it. Sipping, he emphasized, was not the Slavic way. I shared a Frenchman’s champagne, a Peruvian’s pisco sour, a Costa Rican’s pina colada, a Brazilian’s caipirinha, a Mexican’s tequila, and a Japanese’s sake. And apologies to the Germans, but I learned how even weak American beer enlivens an evening when you drink it with the Irish.

We found greater common ground: The Swiss complained about American chocolate, the New Zealanders complained about American cheese, the Sri Lankans complained about American tea, the Indians complained about the lack of vegetarian food, and everyone complained that American food makes you fat. An Austrian made homemade apfelstrudel. A Nigerian made homemade fried plantains. The Pakistanis made a non-spicy version of keema, and I only needed eight glasses of water during the meal. All the Americans had was Three Aces pizza.

As for me, I come from the Philippines, a former American colony best known for Imelda Marcos’s shoe collection. I remember being a six-year old watching my parents walk out of our house to join the crowds gathering to depose the dictator Ferdinand Marcos and form human walls against tanks. I remember being a twenty-year old in a different crowd deposing a different but equally corrupt president.

It was liberating to hear how a Chilean danced with crowds in the streets when Pinochet was arrested. How the Chinese come to grips with Tiananmen Square, while convinced that one cannot transplant American-style government wholesale to Beijing. How life changed in the former Soviet Union; how it was like growing up in a fledgling Eastern European country. How a Pakistani discussed Musharraf’s assault on judicial independence with a South African worried about Mugabe’s own acts in Zimbabwe.

It was even more liberating to hear from a Korean prosecutor how his country sent two former presidents to jail. How the Swiss have preserved their tradition of independence and referendum. How Ghana threw off its colonial fetters and inspired a conscious African solidarity. How a Bhutanese wants to help shape her constitution after her king voluntarily gave up absolute power.

I cannot deny that our generation’s issues will be complex, but I can guarantee that they will never be abstract, not after having a classmate who was an Israeli army drill sergeant, not after having a Chinese classmate with a Taiwanese girlfriend, nor after having a classmate chased by gunmen out of Afghanistan. In fact, when George W. Bush’s speechwriter visited, my Iranian classmate introduced himself, “Hi, I’m from an Axis of Evil country.”

Friends, my most uplifting thought this year has been that the more we learn about each other, the more we realize that we are all alike, and the more we inspire each other to realize our most heartfelt yearnings. My single most memorable moment here came when I met South African Justice Albie Sachs, left with only one arm after an assassination attempt during apartheid. My classmate stood up and said: “South Africa is the world’s second most unequal country. I come from Brazil, the world’s most unequal country, and I admire how the South African Constitutional Court has inspired the progress of human
rights throughout the world.”

And this is how Harvard has changed us. We recall struggling with English to keep pace with the world’s most brilliant professors, especially with Elizabeth Warren’s Socratic blitzkriegs, and we thank Harvard for raising our thinking to a higher, broader level. But even the most powerful ideas demand passion to set them aflame. The passion we ignite today is fueled by a collage of vignettes that will remind us in this crucible of life that our peers in faraway lands face the same frustrations, the same nation building ordeals, the same sorrows,
and ultimately, the same shared joys and triumphs.

How do a mere 700 change the world, even with overpriced Harvard diplomas? Before a great battle in China’s Spring and Autumn Period, the legendary King Gou Jian of Yue was presented with fine wine. He ordered his troops to stand beside a river, and poured the wine into it. He ordered them to drink from the river and share his gift. A bottle of wine cannot flavor a river, but the gesture so emboldened his army that they won a great victory. We of the Class of 2007 shall flavor this earth, whether we be vodka, wine, champagne, pisco sour, pina colada, caipirinha, tequila, sake, jagermeister, raki, Irish stout, Ugandan Warabi, or Philippine lambanog.

Thus, my friends –and this includes our American classmates who will soon lead the world’s lone superpower — let us transcend our individual nationalities and affirm that we are citizens of the world. Maraming salamat po, at mabuhay kayong lahat.*Thank you and long live to you all.*

Add comment June 13th, 2007