SINGH, J.:
WHEREFORE, foregoing premises considered, this office finds Respondent CHRIS ART NORMANDY not guilty of violating the provisions of deceptive, unfair[,] and unconscionable sales act or practices of the Consumer Act of the Philippines and the Rules and Regulations Implementing the same.Normandy filed a Motion for Partial Reconsideration, but this was denied.[18]
However, Respondent CHRIS ART NORMANDY and/or VALKYRIE CONSTRUCTION AND SUPPLIES is hereby found guilty for violating [Republic Act No.] 4566 for engaging in the business of contracting without first having secured a PCAB license to conduct business of contracting in this country.
As a consequence thereof, this office hereby orders that:Let a copy of this Decision be furnished to the DTI-Negros Occidental office which is hereby directed to disseminate copy hereof to the Head of Business Permit and Licensing Office/Business Permit Division of the Local Government Unit of Bacolod City for their appropriate action.
a) CHRIST ART NORMANDY and/or VALKYRIE CONSTRUCTION AND SUPPLIES must cease and desist from operating its contracting business until he has obtained his PCAB license; b) VALKYRIE CONSTRUCTION AND SUPPLIES Certificate of Business Name Registration be cancelled; c) CHRIS ART NORMANDY and/or VALKYRIE CONSTRUCTION AND SUPPLIES application for the registration of the same or another business name be withheld by DTI if the nature thereof is the same as that mentioned in this case; d) CHRIST ART NORMANDY and/or VALKYRIE CONSTRUCTION AND SUPPLIES must pay a one-time Administrative Fine of [PHP 50,000.00], Philippine currency, either in cash or in the form of Company or Managers check and the additional administrative fine of not more than [PHP 1,000.00] for each day of continuing violation at the DTI VI Cashiers Office, 2nd Floor, Department of Trade and Industry Building, cor. J.M. Basa – Gen. Macario Peralta Avenue, Iloilo City.
SO ORDERED.[17] (Emphasis in the original)
Trade and Industry Law means any Act, Batas Pambansa, Presidential Decree, General Order, Letter of Instructions, Executive order, and other similar issuances as well as any and all amendments thereto, which regulates trade and industry activities, the violation of which subjects the offender to criminal or administrative penalties or civil liability or does not subject the offender to any penalty, sanction, or liability at all, and which law or issuance is subject to the implementation, administration, execution or enforcement of the Department, such as those enumerated in Section 1 of Ministry Order No. 69, Series of 1983, as amended and Department Administrative Order No. 3, Series of 1993.The said Office further held that since the complaint was filed on May 2, 2018, it was filed within the two-year prescriptive period since the transaction was consummated on February 7, 2017, the date when the Office of the Building Official of Bacolod issued the Certificate of Occupancy.[21]
It is settled that administrative regulations enacted by administrative agencies to implement and interpret the law which they are entrusted to enforce have the force of law and are entitled to respect. Such rules and regulations partake of the nature of a statute and are just as binding as if they have been written in the statute itself. As such, they have the force and effect of law and enjoy the presumption of constitutionality and legality until they are set aside with finality in an appropriate case by a competent court.
Clear from Rule III, Section 3 of DTI [Department Administrative Order] 7, Series of 2006 that complaints involving persons or entities engaging in construction without a valid PCAB license shall be adjudicated by the DTI, on the ground that it is a violation of a trade and industry law subject to the implementation, administration, execution or enforcement of the DTI.
Accordingly, DTI has jurisdiction over the instant complaint.[20]
WHEREFORE, the Petition is GRANTED. The Decision[,] dated December 20, 2019[,] issued by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is REVERSED and SET ASIDE. The complaint filed against Petitioner is DISMISSED.Cabailo filed a Motion for Reconsideration.
SO ORDERED.[25] (Emphasis in the original)
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the respondent's Motion for Reconsideration is GRANTED. The Court's Decision[,] dated September 30, 2021[,] is REVERSED and SET ASIDE and a new one is entered whereby the petition is DISMISSED and the Decision[,] dated December 20, 2019[,] and the Resolution[,] dated December 11, 2020[,] of the Office of the Secretary of Trade and Industry are AFFIRMED, to the effect that the said Office correctly dismissed the petitioner's appeal and affirmed the Decision dated August 3, 2018 of the Acting Adjudication Officer of the DTI.The CA held, in relevant part:
SO ORDERED.[26]
Under [Presidential Decree] No. 1746, jurisdiction and supervision over the PCAB was lodged with the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines (CIAP), an attached agency to what is now the DTI. The CIAP was vested with the power to "establish procedures, guidelines[,] and criteria for fair and expeditious adjudication and settlement of claims and disputes in contract implementation" while the PCAB had the authority to "investigate such violations of [the Contractors' License Law] and the regulations thereunder as may come to its knowledge." However, it was the DTI itself, pursuant to the Administrative Code of 1987, which was authorized to "[a]dministratively adjudicate and impose reasonable fines and penalties for violation of existing trade and industry laws."Hence, this Petition.
It is true, however, that [Rule 11, Sec. 11.3 (bb)] of the January 24, 1989 Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Contractors' License Law would have vested the PCAB with jurisdiction over this case:SEC. 11.3. Jurisdiction. –However, since the CIAP and the PCAB are both under the DTI, at present time, [Rule 11, Sec. 11.3 (bb)] of the January 24, 1989 IRR of the Contractors' License Law is no longer effective in view of the repealing clause in [Rule XVII, Sec. 3] of DTI DAO No. 07-06 which states:
The [Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board] shall have jurisdiction over:[. . . .]
b) Any of the following offenses of misdemeanor by any person, of:
[. . . .]bb) Submitting or attempting to submit a bid to construct, or entering into contract or undertaking to construct, or assuming charge in a supervisory capacity of a construction work, without first securing a license;Sec. 3. Repealing Clause. – (a) The following DTI orders are hereby repealed:Besides that, the jurisdiction of the PCAB is defined in Secs. 29 and 32 of the Contractors' License Law which read:[. . . .]
(b) All other Department Administrative Orders, Department Orders, other issuances, or parts thereof which are inconsistent with this Order are hereby likewise repealed or amended accordingly.SEC. 29. Jurisdiction. – The Board shall, upon its own motion or upon the verified complaint in writing of any person, investigate the action of any contractor and may suspend or revoke any license if the holder thereof has been guilty of or has committed any one or more of the acts or omission constituting causes for disciplinary action.Clearly then, for the PCAB to exercise its jurisdiction, the person complained of must be a licensee, which is not the case here. Therefore, there is nothing in the Contractors' License Law which vests the PCAB with jurisdiction over this case.
SEC. 32. Jurisdiction. – The lapsing or suspension of a license by operation of law, by order or decision of the Board or other competent authority, or the voluntary surrender of a license shall not deprive the Board of jurisdiction to proceed with any investigation of or action or disciplinary proceedings against such license, or to render a decision suspending or revoking it.
. . . .
Interestingly, the act complained of is defined by Sec. 35 of the Contractors' License Law which reads:SEC. 35. Penalties. – Any contractor who, for a price, commission, fee[,] or wage, submits or attempts to submit a bid to construct, or contracts to or undertakes to construct, or assumes charge in a supervisory capacity of a construction work within the purview of this Act, without first securing a license to engage in the business of contracting in this country; or who shall present or file the license certificate of another, give false evidence of any kind to the Board, or any member thereof in obtaining a certificate or license, impersonate another, or use an expired or revoked certificate or license shall be deemed guilty of misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than [PHP 500.00] but not more than [PHP 5,000.00].Again, DTI DAO No. 07-06 treats "cases involving persons or entities engaging in construction without a valid PCAB license" as a violation of a Trade and Industry Law. As an administrative rule and regulation, DTI DAO No. 07-06 should "have the force of law and [is] entitled to respect." Thus, notwithstanding the fact that the violative act is defined by Sec. 35 of the Contractors' License Law, the provision itself should be deemed a Trade and Industry Law such that administrative jurisdiction over a violation thereof falls with the DTI.[27]
Sec. 29. Jurisdiction. – The Board shall, upon its own motion or upon the verified complaint in writing of any person, investigate the action of any contractor and may suspend or revoke any license if the holder thereof has been guilty of or has committed any one or more of the acts or omission constituting causes for disciplinary action. (Emphasis supplied)As defined in the same law, a contractor is "any person who undertakes or offers to undertake or purports to have the capacity to undertake or submits a bid to, or does himself or by or through others, construct, alter, repair, add to, subtract from, improve, move, wreck[,] or demolish any building, highway, road, railroad, excavation[,] or other structure, project, development[,] or improvement, or to do any part thereof, including the erection of scaffolding or other structures or works in connection therewith."[29]
SEC. 35. Penalties. – Any contractor who, for a price, commission, fee[,] or wage, submits or attempts to submit a bid to construct, or contracts to or undertakes to construct, or assumes charge in a supervisory capacity of a construction work within the purview of this Act, without first securing a license to engage in the business of contracting in this country; or who shall present or file the license certificate of another, give false evidence of any kind to the Board, or any member thereof in obtaining a certificate or license, impersonate another, or use an expired or revoked certificate or license shall be deemed guilty of misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than [PHP 500.00] but not more than [PHP 5,000.00]. (Emphasis supplied)The phrasing is significant because it highlights that the term "contractor" encompasses individuals engaging in contracting activities, regardless of whether they have obtained a license or not.
Sec. 5. Powers and duties of the Board. The Board is vested with authority to issue, suspend[,] and revoke licenses of contractors, to investigate such violations of this Act and the regulations thereunder as may come to its knowledge and, for this purpose, issue subpoena and subpoena duces tecum to secure appearance of witnesses in connection with the charges presented to the Board, and to discharge such other powers and duties affecting the construction industry in the Philippines.Consequently, the IRR of the Contractors' License Law stipulates that the PCAB has jurisdiction over cases whereby one engages in the business of contracting without first having secured a PCAB license:
The Board may, with the approval of the President of the Philippines, issue such rules and regulations as may be deemed necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act, to adopt a code of ethics for contractors and to have an official seal to authenticate its official documents. (Emphasis supplied)
Sec. 11.3. Jurisdiction – The Board shall have jurisdiction over:From the afore-quoted provisions of the Contractors' License Law and its IRR, it is clear that the PCAB indeed has jurisdiction over the act complained of by Cabailo.
. . . .
(b) Any of the following offenses of misdemeanor by any person, of:. . . .
(bb) Submitting or attempting to submit a bid to construct, or entering into contract or undertaking to construct, or assuming charge in a supervisory capacity of a construction work, without first securing a license[.][31] (Emphasis supplied)