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Re Tony Q. Valenciano, A.M. No. 10-4-19-SC
Re Tony Q. Valenciano, A.M. No. 10-4-19-SC
Issue:
Whether or not the holding of masses at the basement of the Quezon City Hall of Justice violates the
constitutional principle of separation of Church and State as well as the constitutional prohibition against
appropriation of public money or property for the benefit of any sect, church, denomination, sectarian
institution or system of religion.
Ruling:
The holding of Religious Rituals in the Hall of Justice does not amount to the union of Church and State.
The 1987 constitution provides that the separation of Church and the State shall be inviolable; if further
provides that the free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination
or preference, shall forever be allowed. Allowing religion to flourish is not contrary to the principle of
separation of Church and state. In fact, these two principles are in perfect harmony with each other. The
Roman Catholic express their worship through the holy mass and to stop these would be tantamount to
repressing the right to the free exercise of their religion.
It is also the view of the Supreme Court that the holding of Catholic masses at the basement of the
Quezon City Hall of Justice is not a case of establishment but merely accommodation wherein the
government recognize the reality that some measures may not be imposed on a certain portion of the
population for the reason that these measures are contrary to their religious beliefs. As long as it can be
shown that the exercise of the right does not impair the public welfare, the attempt of the State to regulate
or prohibit such right would be an unconstitutional encroachment.
No appropriation of Public money or property for the benefit of any Church. The constitution provides that
“No public money or property shall be appropriated, applied, paid, or employed, directly or indirectly, for
the use, benefit, or support any sect, church, denomination, sectarian institution, or system of religion, or
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 any penal institution, or government
orphanage or leprosarium.
The prohibition contemplates a scenario where the appropriation is primarily intended for the furtherance
of a particular church. The forecited constitutional provision “does not inhibit the use of public property for
religious purposes when the religious character of such use is merely incidental to a temporary use which
is available indiscriminately to the public in general. Thus, the basement of the Quezon City Hall of
Justice has remained to be a public property devoted for public use because the holding of Catholic
masses therein is a mere incidental consequence of its primary purpose.