REPUBLIC

OF THE PHILIPPINES
REGIONAL TRIAL COURT
NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION
MAKATI CITY
BRANCH ________

VERONICA CHUNG
CHRISTIANNE DE VERA
LOUIS TAN
MICHAEL UY,
Plaintiffs,
Civil Case No. ____________
For: DECLARATORY RELIEF
- versus -

MARK A. VILLAR,
in his capacity as Secretary
of the Department of Public Works
and Highways (DPWH)
Defendant.
x ----------------------------------- x


COMPLAINT


PLAINTIFFS, through counsel and unto this Honorable Court,
respectfully allege that:

1. Plaintiffs are of legal age, Filipino, and residents of Makati City.

2. Defendant is of legal age, Filipino, with office address at the
Department of Public Works and Highways, Bonifacio Drive
Port Area, 652 Zone 068, Manila, 1018 Metro Manila where
summons and other court processes may be served.

3. On October 1, 2016, the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Makati
passed City Ordinance No. 2016-819 appropriating funds for
the delivery and installation of traffic signs on various streets
within Salcedo Village to promote public safety and order, and
for the regulation, warning, and guidance of traffic. The
relevant portions are quoted hereunder:

 WHEREAS, due to the increased traffic of vehicles within Salcedo
Village, there is a need to install traffic signs to insure the
orderliness of traffic and the protection of the pedestrians, to
promote public safety and order, and for the regulation, warning,
and guidance of traffic;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED, AS IT IS HEREBY ORDAINED
BY THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD OF MAKATI, METRO
MANILA, IN SESSION ASSEMBLED, THAT;
Section 1. The amount of Eight Hundred Eighty-Eight Thousand
Pesos (P 888, 888.00) or so much thereof as may be necessary is
hereby appropriated to be made available for the delivery and
installation of traffic signs in various streets of Salcedo Village,
Makati City, Metro Manila.

4. On April 23, 2017, upon approval of the defendant of the
proposed installation through Department Order No. 119, s.
2017, a ONE WAY on Saturdays, Sundays, Holidays sign was
erected at the intersection of Villar and Valero Streets,
adjacent to a preexisting NO ENTRY sign.

5. The following portion of the aforementioned Department
Order is ambiguous:

It is hereby directed that, effective immediately, plans of
delivery and installation of all traffic signs in Salcedo Village,
Makati City, in the streets described below, should be
implemented by the Sangguninang Panlungsod to insure the
orderliness of traffic and the protection of the pedestrians, to
promote public safety and order, and for the regulation,
warning, and guidance of traffic in Makati City.

x.x

2. Villar cor. Valero Sts. One Way on Saturdays, Sundays,
and Holidays (NO ENTRY M-F)

x.x

n According to the Highway Safety Design Standards Manuals: Part
2 Road Signs and Pavement Markings Manual issued by the
DPWH, one of the minimum requirements for a road sign is that it
must convey a clear, simple message. In this case, having two signs
with ambiguous meaning together at the same intersection shows
failure to comply with this basic requirement. Furthermore, the
Manual states that there should not be more than one sign of a
particular type on each post, except where one sign supplements
another, or where route or directional signs must be grouped,
 which is another guideline violated. It is also instructive on the
proper placement of traffic signs, thus: The NO ENTRY sign shall be
used at the termination of a one-way carriageway to prohibit access
of all vehicles from the wrong direction. At one-way street exits, NO
ENTRY signs shall be erected on both sides of the street at the
intersection facing on the opposite direction to the one-way flow. It
is also prescribed that traffic signs shall be removed promptly if
the legal requirements of the signs become inconsistent with the
prevailing conditions, as in the case where the proximity of the
assailed traffic signs renders them inconsistent with each other.
Statutory Construction dictates that Special Laws prevail over
General laws. General and special laws are read and construed
together, and that repugnancy between them is reconciled by
constituting the special law as an exception to the general law. In
the present case, when the ONE WAY sign was put in place, it
served as an abrogation of the previous NO ENTRY sign.


6. Given that April 29, 2017 is the first Saturday that the sign will
be effective, urgent action on this is necessary. Unless
declaratory relief is granted, plaintiffs will suffer grave and
irreparable injury because this violates plaintiffs
constitutionally-guaranteed rights to life and property, as the
ambiguity may result in accidental injury, loss, or death not
only to plaintiffs but to all who pass the said streets.
Furthermore, Makati City is notorious for its unforgiving traffic
management system and hefty fines. As residents of Makati
City who drive in, out of, and around Salcedo Village, plaintiffs
risk being imposed a fine of Two Thousand Five Hundred
Pesos (P2,500.00) and/or suspension of drivers license, under
the amended Makati City Traffic Code. In addition there is the
mandatory drivers re-education seminar required for the
apprehended driver. This will result in loss of valuable time for
plaintiffs.

WHEREFORE, plaintiff respectfully prays that this Honorable
Court grant declaratory relief and declare plaintiffs rights and duties
under the City Ordinance 2016-819 in relation to Department Order No.
119, s. 2017.

Makati City, April 24


Jemima Mojica
Counsel for Plaintiff
1194 Tamarind Rd. Senior Officer Quarters, Taguig City
 VERIFICATION & CERTIFICATION AGAINST FORUM SHOPPING

I, Veronica Chung, of legal age, do hereby state that: I am the
plaintiff in the pleading/document entitled In Re: Ambiguous Road
Signs in the City of Makati and in such capacity, caused this Complaint to
be prepared; I have read its contents and affirm that they are true and
correct to the best of my own personal knowledge; I hereby certify that
there is no other case commenced or pending before any court involving
the same parties and the same issue and that, should I learn of such a
case, I shall notify the court within five (5) days from my notice.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have signed this instrument on April 24,
2017.

Veronica Chung


SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO before me in the City of Makati on
this day of 24 of April 2017 affiant exhibiting before me his Government
Issued ID no. 27223 issued on April 24, 2017 at Taguig City


Leo Anthony Intia
Notary Public

Until March 2018
PTR No. 77777
Issued at Taguig City
On April 24, 2017

Doc. No. 77
Page No. 777
Book No. 7777
Series of 2017










 VERIFICATION & CERTIFICATION AGAINST FORUM SHOPPING

I, Christianne de Vera, of legal age, do hereby state that: I am the
plaintiff in the pleading/document entitled In Re: Ambiguous Road
Signs in the City of Makati and in such capacity, caused this Complaint to
be prepared; I have read its contents and affirm that they are true and
correct to the best of my own personal knowledge; I hereby certify that
there is no other case commenced or pending before any court involving
the same parties and the same issue and that, should I learn of such a
case, I shall notify the court within five (5) days from my notice.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have signed this instrument on April 24,
2017.

Christianne de Vera


SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO before me in the City of Makati on
this day of 24 of April 2017 affiant exhibiting before me his Government
Issued ID no. 27223 issued on April 24, 2017 at Taguig City


Leo Anthony Intia
Notary Public

Until March 2018
PTR No. 77777
Issued at Taguig City
On April 24, 2017

Doc. No. 77
Page No. 777
Book No. 7777
Series of 2017










 VERIFICATION & CERTIFICATION AGAINST FORUM SHOPPING

I, Michael Uy, of legal age, do hereby state that: I am the plaintiff in
the pleading/document entitled In Re: Ambiguous Road Signs in the City
of Makati and in such capacity, caused this Complaint to be prepared; I
have read its contents and affirm that they are true and correct to the
best of my own personal knowledge; I hereby certify that there is no
other case commenced or pending before any court involving the same
parties and the same issue and that, should I learn of such a case, I shall
notify the court within five (5) days from my notice.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have signed this instrument on April 24,
2017.

Michael Uy

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO before me in the City of Makati on
this day of 24 of April 2017 affiant exhibiting before me his Government
Issued ID no. 27223 issued on April 24, 2017 at Taguig City


Leo Anthony Intia
Notary Public

Until March 2018
PTR No. 77777
Issued at Taguig City
On April 24, 2017

Doc. No. 77
Page No. 777
Book No. 7777
Series of 2017











 VERIFICATION & CERTIFICATION AGAINST FORUM SHOPPING

I, Louis Tan, of legal age, do hereby state that: I am the plaintiff in
the pleading/document entitled In Re: Ambiguous Road Signs in the City
of Makati and in such capacity, caused this Complaint to be prepared; I
have read its contents and affirm that they are true and correct to the
best of my own personal knowledge; I hereby certify that there is no
other case commenced or pending before any court involving the same
parties and the same issue and that, should I learn of such a case, I shall
notify the court within five (5) days from my notice.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have signed this instrument on April 24,
2017.

Louis Tan


SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO before me in the City of Makati on
this day of 24 of April 2017 affiant exhibiting before me his Government
Issued ID no. 27223 issued on April 24, 2017 at Taguig City


Leo Anthony Intia
Notary Public

Until March 2018
PTR No. 77777
Issued at Taguig City
On April 24, 2017

Doc. No. 77
Page No. 777
Book No. 7777
Series of 2017