INSURANCE COMPANY OF NORTH AMERICA, PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT, VS. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES AND CUSTOMS ARRASTRE SERVICE, DEFENDANTS-APPELLEES.

Allied Manufacturing & Trading Company, Inc. imported fifteen
(15) cases of Harting voltage regulators, Purolator filters and Wipperman
timing chains.  On or about June 26, 1964, the shipment was discharged by SS “Glen­garry” unto the custody of the, Customs Arrastre
Service of the Bureau of Customs. 
However, only fourteen cases were later delivered to the consignee.  As insurer of the shipment “against all risks”, the Insurance Company
of North America paid the consignee P4,469.80 – the value of the case
lost.  As subrogee to the consignee, the
Insurance Company sought to recover from the Customs Arrastre Service said
amount.

Having been denied
recovery, the Insurance Company of North America on June 26, 1965 filed before the City Court of Manila an action against the Republic
of the Philippines
as arrastre operator and the
Customs Arrastre Service as the entity through which the former operated,
praying for the recovery of P4,469.80 with legal
interest, attorney’s fees plus costs.

The City Court and on
appeal the Court of First Ins­tance of Manila, on November 25, 1966,
ordered the defen­dants to pay plaintiff
P4,469.80 despite defendants’ al­legations of non-suability and denial of
liability.  How­ever, in view of this Court’s ruling in
Mobil Philippines Exploration,
Inc. v. Customs Arrastre Service and Bureau of Customs, L-23139, December 17, 1966, declaring the
non-suability of the Customs Arrastre Service and the Bureau of Customs, the
Court of First Instance on January 7, 1967 set aside its decision of November 25, 1966 and dismissed the
case.  After the denial of its motion for
reconsideration, the plaintiff has appealed to Us on the ground that the Mobil
case is not applicable because there, only the Customs Arrastre Service and the
Bureau of Customs were declared as not suable; the Republic, a party defendant
herein, was not included in the Mobil suit; and ap­pellant contends that
the Republic has personality to be sued.

The appeal is untenable. 
The Republic, in doing ar­raster operations through the Bureau of
Customs or the Customs Arrastre Service, performs a necessary incident of the
primary governmental function of assessment and collection from importations,
of lawful revenues, tariff and customs duties, fees, charges, fines and
penalties.  As such, the Republic is immune from suit without its consent for said operations.

The propriety of the application of Commonwealth Act 327
providing for money claims against
the government to be filed against the Auditor General, has already been
disposed of by Us in an extended
resolution denying the motion
for reconsideration, in G.R. No. L-26532, Insurance Company
of North America, v.  Republic, August 30, 1967.  Contrary to appellant’s concept, claims of this nature do not ap­pear
to be unliquidated, for their amounts are fixed or can fairly and easily be
determined from readily accessible papers and records of the shipments.  And the fact that the liability of the
Government for a liquidated claim is at issue does not alone convert said claim
into and unli­quidated one.

WHEREFORE, the dismissal order is hereby affirmed, with
costs against appellant.

SO ORDERED.

Concepcion, C.J., Reyes, Dizon, Makalintal, Zaldivar, Sanchez,
Castro, Angeles, and Fernando, JJ., concur.