Raffle Case #30
German v. Barangan
G.R. No. L-68828 March 27, 1985
FACTS: On October 2, 1984, at about 5:00 in the afternoon, a group comprised of students,
businessmen, and office employees convened at J.P. Laurel Street, Manila, for the purpose of
hearing Mass at the St. Jude Chapel which adjoins the Malacañang grounds located in the same
street. Wearing a yellow-t-shirt, they marched down said street with raised clenched fists while
shouting anti-government criticisms. Along the way, they were barred by the respondents for
security reasons and were told that any similar attempt by petitioners to enter the church in the
future would likewise be prevented. It is for this reason that the petitioners took this present
recourse.
ISSUE: Whether or not the prohibition on petitioners from worshipping and praying at the chapel
violates their freedom to worship.
HELD: the restriction imposed was to secure the several executive offices within the Malacañang
grounds from possible external attacks and disturbances. Unquestionably, the restriction imposed
is necessary to maintain the smooth functioning of the executive branch of the government, which
petitioners' mass action would certainly disrupt. Petitioners are not denied or restrained of their
freedom of belief or choice of their religion, but only in the manner by which they had attempted
to translate the same into action. Suffice it to say that the restriction imposed on the use of J.P.
Laurel Street, the wisdom and reasonableness of which have already been discussed, is allowed
under the fundamental law. If the exercise of said religious belief clashes with the established
institutions of society and with the law, then the former must yield and give way to the latter.