MANILA — The Supreme Court dismissed a petition by a Las Piñas resident challenging a Manila City ordinance that raised garbage collection fees.

In its resolution, the court said the petition filed by John Barry T. Tayam did not meet the basic requirements for judicial review, noting that he lacked legal standing to question Manila City’s Ordinance No. 9151.

The SC also said the petition violated the rule on the hierarchy of suits, which generally restricts the High Court to “purely questions of law” and leaves factual questions to lower courts.

The petition could not be treated as a taxpayer suit, the court added, because it did not allege any illegal disbursement of public funds or an unconstitutional tax measure. Instead, the ordinance was considered a regulatory measure.

Ordinance 9151, enacted by the Manila City Council in November 2025, updated the schedule of garbage collection fees, which had remained unchanged since 2013.

Tayam argued that the ordinance was invalid for being approved without publication, citing Article 2 of the Civil Code and Section 187 of the Local Government Code (LGC). He also claimed it violated Section 13(b)(3) of the LGC for increasing fees beyond the cost of waste regulation in Manila.

In addition, Tayam cited Republic Act 9003, the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, asserting that the ordinance ignored the role of barangays in waste management and the law’s policy promoting waste reuse and recycling.

The SC ruled that the ordinance applies only to businesses, service agencies, and residences located in Manila.