RE: LETTER OF TONY Q. VALENCIANO
Re: Letter of Tony Q. Valenciano Holding of Religious Rituals at the Hall of Justice Building in Quezon City
A.M. No. 10-4-19-SC
March 7, 2017
Facts:
This controversy originated from a series of letters written by Valenciano and addressed to the Chief Justice Reynato S.
Puno reporting that the basement of the Hall of Justice of Quezon City had been converted into a Roman Catholic
Chapel, complete with Catholic religious icons and other instrument for religious activities. He believe that such practice
violated the constitutional provisions on the separation of Church and State and the constitutional prohibition against
the appropriation of public money and property for the benefit of a sect, church, denomination, or any other system of
religion. He further averred that the holding of masses at the basement of Hall of Justice showed that it tended to favor
the Catholic litigants; that the rehearsals and other activities caused great disturbance to the employees; and that court
functions are affected due to the masses that is being held from 12:00 to 1:15 in the afternoon.
Issue:
Whether or not the holding of masses at the basement of the Quezon City Hall of Justice violates the constitutional
principle of separation of Church and State as well as the constitutional prohibition against appropriation of public
money or property for the benefit of any sect, church, denomination, sectarian institution or system of religion.
Ruling:
The holding of Religious Rituals in the Hall of Justice does not amount to the union of Church and State. The 1987
constitution provides that the separation of Church and the State shall be inviolable; if further provides that the free
exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be
allowed. Allowing religion to flourish is not contrary to the principle of separation of Church and state. In fact, these two
principles are in perfect harmony with each other. The Roman Catholic express their worship through the holy mass and
to stop these would be tantamount to repressing the right to the free exercise of their religion.
It is also the view of the Supreme Court that the holding of Catholic masses at the basement of the Quezon City Hall of
Justice is not a case of establishment but merely accommodation wherein the government recognize the reality that
some measures may not be imposed on a certain portion of the population for the reason that these measures are
contrary to their religious beliefs. As long as it can be shown that the exercise of the right does not impair the public
welfare, the attempt of the State to regulate or prohibit such right would be an unconstitutional encroachment.
No appropriation of Public money or property for the benefit of any Church. The constitution provides that “No public
money or property shall be appropriated, applied, paid, or employed, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or
support any sect, church, denomination, sectarian institution, or system of religion, or any priest, preacher, minister or
other religious teacher, or dignitary as such, except when such priest, preacher, minister, or dignitary is assigned to the
armed forces, or any penal institution, or government orphanage or leprosarium.
The prohibition contemplates a scenario where the appropriation is primarily intended for the furtherance of a
particular church. The aforecited constitutional provision “does not inhibit the use of public property for religious
purposes when the religious character of such use is merely incidental to a temporary use which is available
indiscriminately to the public in general. Thus, the basement of the Quezon City Hall of Justice has remained to be a
public property devoted for public use because the holding of Catholic masses therein is a mere incidental consequence
of its primary purpose.