(Eagle News)–The Supreme Court has junked the petitions filed against the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority’s order banning provincial bus bans along Edsa.
In its resolution cited in a notice provided to the media, the en banc cited a violation of the hierarchy of courts in the filing of the petitions of Ako Bicol Party-list, Rep. Joey Salceda, Bayan Muna Party-list chair Neri Colmenares and several others against MMDA Regulation 19-002, which specifically bans or revokes all business permits to provincial bus operators along the major thoroughfare, for their junking.
The hierarchy of courts doctrine bans parties from filing a petition directly with the High Court when relief may be obtained from lower courts.
According to the SC, the petitioners question the manner by which the regulation was approved, which requires a presentation of the procedure undertaken by the MMDA, which had cited the need to decongest Edsa in the issuance of its regulation.
It added the issue of whether the ban eases traffic congestion was also factual, and therefore requires a “showing of verified data or statistics.”
“These factual questions require reception of evidence and/or hearing which must be relegated to the Court of Appeals or to the proper trial court,”the SC said.
“Verily, this court is not a trier of facts, more so in consideration of the extraordinary writ of certiorari where neither questions of fact nor law are entertained but only questions of lack or excess of jurisdiction or grave abuse of discretion,” the SC added.
A writ of preliminary injunction against the provincial bus ban, however, remains in place.
This was issued by a Quezon City court on July 31, 2019.
