The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that owners of shopping malls in the country have the legal right to collect parking fees from customers who use the mall parking facilities because there is no law that prohibits them from doing so.

In a decision written by Justice Minita V. Chico Nazario, the SC said the prohibition against the collection of parking fees from persons who use the mall parking facilities has no basis in the National Building Code (NBC) or its implementing rules and regulations (IRR).

The SC pointed out that the term “parking fees” cannot be found in the entire provisions of the NBC and its IRR which only means that the said provisions do not regulate the collection of parking fees.

“The state also cannot impose the same prohibition by generally invoking police power since said prohibition amounts to a taking of respondents’ (mall owners) property without payment of just compensation,” it stressed.

With the ruling, the SC dismissed the petition filed by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) seeking to reverse the rulings handed down by the Makati City regional trial court (RTC) and the Court of Appeals (CA) in favor of the mall owners.

Both the RTC and the CA had ruled that mall owners like Ayala Land, Robinsons Land Corp., Shangri-La Plaza Corp. and SM Prime Holdings, Inc. are not compelled to provide free parking spaces in their malls for customers.

In its petition, the OSG told the SC that the provision of free parking to mall customers contributes to the goal of “safeguarding the life, health, property, and public welfare” provided for under Section 102 of the NB.