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Mobil Philippines Exploration v. Customs Arrastre Service (CD)
Mobil Philippines Exploration v. Customs Arrastre Service (CD)
,
vs. CUSTOMS ARRASTRE SERVICE and BUREAU OF CUSTOMS
No. L- 23139 December 17, 1966
FACTS : Sometime in November 1962, four cases of rotary drill parts were shipped from
abroad on S.S “Leoville”, consigned to the petitioner, Mobil Philippines Exploration
Inc. Manila. April 10, 1963, in Port of Manila, the objects were shipped and was
discharged to custody of the defendant, Custom’s Arrastre Service, the unit of the
Bureau of Customs then handling Arrastre operations therein. The Customs
Arrastre Service later delivered to the broker of the consignee three (3) cases only
of the shipment.
The Court of First Instance of Manila, dismissed the suit filed by the
petitioner, sought to recover from the Customs Arrastre Service and the Bureau of
Customs the value of the undelivered cases in the amount of P18, 493.37, on the
ground that the defendants are not suable.
ISSUE: Whether or not the Customs Arrastre Service and Bureau of Customs, possessing
proprietary and governmental functions, respectively, are immuned from suit.
HELD: The Supreme Court answered this querry AFFIRMATIVE. Deriving from the
Constitutional guarantee that the State may not be sued without its consent.
It is given that the Arrastre Service, which has non- governmental function, is
undertaken as an incident to its government function, there is no waiver thereby
of the sovereign immunity from suit extended to such government entity.