Kilosbayan, Inc. et al. v. Guingona, Jr. et al.
G.R. No. 113375, May 5, 1994
FACTS:
Petitioners filed with the Court a special civil action for prohibition and injunction,
with a prayer for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, which seeks to
prohibit and restrain the implementation of the “Contract of Lease” executed by the PCSO
and the Philippine Gaming Management Corporation (PGMC) in connection with the online
lottery system, also known as “lotto.”
Petitioner Kilosbayan avers that it is a non-stock domestic corporation composed of
civic-spirited citizens, pastors, priests, nuns, and lay leaders who are committed to the cause
of truth, justice, and national renewal. The rest of the petitioners, except Senators Freddie
Webb and Wigberto Tañada and Representative Joker P. Arroyo, are suing in their capacities
as members of the Board of Trustees of Kilosbayan and as taxpayers and concerned citizens.
Senators Webb and Tañada and Representative Arroyo are suing in their capacities as
members of Congress and as taxpayers and concerned citizens of the Philippines.
Public respondents allege that the petitioners have no standing to maintain the instant
suit.
ISSUE:
Whether or not the petitioners have locus standi
RULING:
NO, but the Court finds the instant petition to be of transcendental importance to the
public. The issues it raised are of paramount public interest. The ramifications of such issues
immeasurably affect the social, economic, and moral well-being of the people even in the
remotest barangays of the country and the counter-productive and retrogressive effects of the
envisioned online lottery system are as staggering as the billions in pesos it is expected to
raise. The legal standing then of the petitioners deserves recognition and, in the exercise of its
sound discretion, this Court hereby brushes aside the procedural barrier which the
respondents tried to take advantage of.