Case Digest: Aglipay vs Ruiz GR No L-45459

Aglipay vs. Ruiz 

GR No. L-45459                             March 13, 1937

Facts:

The Director of Post announced that he would order the issues of postage stamps commemorating the celebration of City of Manila of the 33^rd International Eucharistic Congress organized by the Roman Catholic Church pursuant to Act No. 4052 for the purpose of appropriating funds for the making of new postage stamps. Aglipay requested Atty. Vicente Sotto to denounce the matter to the President. It was alleged that Ruiz is in direct violation of the Constitution by issuing and selling postage stamps commemorative of the 33^rd International Eucharistic Congress. That such act was violative of Art. VI, Sec. 23 (3) of the Philippines, to wit:

No public money or property shall ever be appropriated, applied, or used, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, secretarian, institution, or system of religion, or for the use, benefit, or support of any priest, preacher, minister, or other religious teacher or dignitary as such, except when such priest, preacher, minister, or dignitary is assigned to the armed forces or to any penal institution, orphanage, or leprosarium.

The prohibition herein expressed is a direct corollary of the principle of separation of church and state.

Issue:

Is the production and selling of the International Eucharistic Congress commemorative stamps violation of the separation of Church and State and Art. VI, Sec. 23 (3)?

Ruling:

No, we are much impressed with the vehement appeal of counsel for the petitioner to maintain inviolate the complete separation of church and state and curb any attempt to infringe by indirection a constitutional inhibition. Indeed, in the Philippines, once the scene of religious intolerance and prescription, care should be taken that at this stage of our political development nothing is done by the Government or its officials that may lead to the belief that the Government is taking sides or favoring a particular religious sect or institution. But, upon very serious reflection, examination of Act No. 4052, and scrutiny of the attending circumstances, we have come to the conclusion that there has been no constitutional infraction in the case at bar, Act No. 4052 grants the Director of Posts, with the approval of the Secretary of Public Works and Communications, discretion to misuse postage stamps with new designs "as often as may be deemed advantageous to the Government.”

Act No. 4052 contemplates no religious purpose. What it gives is the discretionary powers to determine when the issuance of special postage stamps would be advantageous to the government.