LEOVILLO AGUSTIN vs HON.

RAMON EDU, Land Transportation Commissioner

G.R. No. L-49112
February 2, 1979

Letter of Instruction No. 229 (1974) as amended by Letter of Instruction No. 479 (1976)
required every motor vehicle owner to procure and use one pair of a reflectorized triangular early
warning device whenever any vehicle is stalled or disabled or is parked for thirty (30) minutes or
more on any street, or highway, including expressways or limited access roads. The
implementing rules and regulations prepared by the respondent Land Transportation
Commissioner on December 10, 1976 were not enforced as President Marcos, on January 25,
1977, ordered a six-month period of suspension insofar as the installation of early warning
device (EWD) as a pre-registration requirement for motor vehicles was concerned.

Letter of Instruction No. 716, issued on June 30, 1978 lifted such suspension and in pursuance
thereof, the rules and regulations prepared by respondent Commission were approved for
immediate implementation by respondent Minister of Public Works and Communication.
Petitioner came to court alleging that Letter of Instruction 229, as amended, clearly violates the
provisions of the New Constitution on due process, equal protection and delegation of police
power. That it is oppressive, unreasonable, arbitrary, confiscatory and contrary to the precepts of
our compassionate New Society.

ISSUE:

Whether LOI 229, requiring motor vehicle owners to buy a reflectorized triangular EWD is an
invalid exercise of the police power of the state.

HELD:

It was valid. The Court dismissed the petition for prohibition ruling that the Letter of Instruction
in question was issued in the exercise of the State's police power intended to promote public
safety, specifically in avoidance of accidents and other troubles that may arise from stalling a
disabled vehicle in the middle of the road without an early warning device.

There has been no undue delegation of legislative power as a standard has been set by the Letter
of Instruction. The implementing rules and regulations of respondent Land Transportation
Commissioner do not constitute unlawful delegation of legislative power because it merely
enforces LOI 229. Furthermore, the hazards posed by such obstructions to traffic have been
recognized by international bodies concerned with traffic safety, the 1968 Vienna Convention on
Road Signs and Signals of which Philippines was a signatory and which was duly ratified and the
United Nations Organization. Our country cannot repudiate its commitment to international
bodies and the accepted principles of international law.