RAC Sec 18-24

Sec. 18. When Laws Take Effect. - Laws shall take effect after fifteen (15) days
following the completion of their publication in the Official Gazette or in a
newspaper of general circulation, unless it is otherwise provided.

Sec. 19. Prospectivity. - Laws shall have prospective effect unless the contrary is
expressly provided.

Sec. 20. Interpretation of Laws and Administrative Issuances. - In the interpretation
of a law or administrative issuance promulgated in all the official languages, the
English text shall control, unless otherwise specifically provided. In case of
ambiguity, omission or mistake, the other texts may be consulted.

Sec. 21. No Implied Revival of Repealed Law.- When a law which expressly repeals a
prior law itself repealed, the law first repealed shall not be thereby revived unless
expressly so provided.

Sec. 22. Revival of Law Impliedly Repealed. - When a law which impliedly repeals a
prior law is itself repealed, the prior law shall thereby be revived, unless the
repealing law provides otherwise.

Sec. 23. Ignorance of the Law. - Ignorance of the law excuses no one from
compliance therewith.

Sec. 24. Contents. - There shall be published in the Official Gazette all legislative acts
and resolutions of a public nature; all executive and administrative issuances of
general application; decisions or abstracts of decisions of the Supreme Court and the
Court of Appeals, or other courts of similar rank, as may be deemed by said courts of
sufficient importance to be so published; such documents or classes of documents as
may be required so to be published by law; and such documents or classes of
documents as the President shall determine from time to time to have general
application or which he may authorize so to be published.
The publication of any law, resolution or other official documents in the Official
Gazette shall be prima facie evidence of its authority.

EO 200 Sec 1-2

Sec. 1. Laws shall take effect after fifteen days following the completion of their
publication either in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation in
the Philippines, unless it is otherwise provided.

Sec. 2. Article 2 of Republic Act No. 386, otherwise known as the "Civil Code of the
Philippines," and all other laws inconsistent with this Executive Order are hereby
repealed or modified accordingly.

NCC 2252-2269

TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

Art. 2252. Changes made and new provisions and rules laid down by this Code
which may prejudice or impair vested or acquired rights in accordance with the old
legislation shall have no retroactive effect.
For the determination of the applicable law in cases which are not specified
elsewhere in this Code, the following articles shall be observed: (Pars. 1 and 2,
Transitional Provisions).

Art. 2253. The Civil Code of 1889 and other previous laws shall govern rights
originating, under said laws, from acts done or events which took place under their
regime, even though this Code may regulate them in a different manner, or may not
recognize them. But if a right should be declared for the first time in this Code, it
shall be effective at once, even though the act or event which gives rise thereto may
have been done or may have occurred under prior legislation, provided said new
right does not prejudice or impair any vested or acquired right, of the same origin.
(Rule 1)

Art. 2254. No vested or acquired right can arise from acts or omissions which are
against the law or which infringe upon the rights of others. (n)

Art. 2255. The former laws shall regulate acts and contracts with a condition or
period, which were executed or entered into before the effectivity of this Code, even
though the condition or period may still be pending at the time this body of laws
goes into effect. (n)

Art. 2256. Acts and contracts under the regime of the old laws, if they are valid in
accordance therewith, shall continue to be fully operative as provided in the same,
with the limitations established in these rules. But the revocation or modification of
these acts and contracts after the beginning of the effectivity of this Code, shall be
subject to the provisions of this new body of laws. (Rule 2a)

Art. 2257. Provisions of this Code which attach a civil sanction or penalty or a
deprivation of rights to acts or omissions which were not penalized by the former
laws, are not applicable to those who, when said laws were in force, may have
executed the act or incurred in the omission forbidden or condemned by this Code.

If the fault is also punished by the previous legislation, the less severe sanction shall
be applied.

If a continuous or repeated act or omission was commenced before the beginning of
the effectivity of this Code, and the same subsists or is maintained or repeated after
this body of laws has become operative, the sanction or penalty prescribed in this
Code shall be applied, even though the previous laws may not have provided any
sanction or penalty therefor. (Rule 3a)

Art. 2258. Actions and rights which came into being but were not exercised before
the effectivity of this Code, shall remain in full force in conformity with the old
legislation; but their exercise, duration and the procedure to enforce them shall be
regulated by this Code and by the Rules of Court. If the exercise of the right or of the
action was commenced under the old laws, but is pending on the date this Code
takes effect, and the procedure was different from that established in this new body
of laws, the parties concerned may choose which method or course to pursue. (Rule
4)

Art. 2259. The capacity of a married woman to execute acts and contracts is
governed by this Code, even if her marriage was celebrated under the former laws.
(n)

Art. 2260. The voluntary recognition of a natural child shall take place according to
this Code, even if the child was born before the effectivity of this body of laws. (n)

Art. 2261. The exemption prescribed in Article 302 shall also be applicable to any
support, pension or gratuity already existing or granted before this Code becomes
effective. (n)

Art. 2262. Guardians of the property of minors, appointed by the courts before this
Code goes into effect, shall continue to act as such, notwithstanding the provisions of
Article 320. (n)

Art. 2263. Rights to the inheritance of a person who died, with or without a will,
before the effectivity of this Code, shall be governed by the Civil Code of 1889, by
other previous laws, and by the Rules of Court. The inheritance of those who, with
or without a will, die after the beginning of the effectivity of this Code, shall be
adjudicated and distributed in accordance with this new body of laws and by the
Rules of Court; but the testamentary provisions shall be carried out insofar as they
may be permitted by this Code. Therefore, legitimes, betterments, legacies and
bequests shall be respected; however, their amount shall be reduced if in no other
manner can every compulsory heir be given his full share according to this Code.
(Rule 12a)

Art. 2264. The status and rights of natural children by legal fiction referred to in
article 89 and illegitimate children mentioned in Article 287, shall also be acquired
by children born before the effectivity of this Code. (n)

Art. 2265. The right of retention of real or personal property arising after this Code
becomes effective, includes those things which came into the creditor's possession
before said date. (n)

Art. 2266. The following shall have not only prospective but also retroactive effect:

(1) Article 315, whereby a descendant cannot be compelled, in a criminal case, to
testify against his parents and ascendants;

(2) Articles 101 and 88, providing against collusion in cases of legal separation and
annulment of marriage;

(3) Articles 283, 284, and 289, concerning the proof of illegitimate filiation;

(4) Article 838, authorizing the probate of a will on petition of the testator himself;

(5) Articles 1359 to 1369, relative to the reformation of instruments;

(6) Articles 476 to 481, regulating actions to quiet title;

(7) Articles 2029 to 2031, which are designed to promote compromise. (n)

Art. 2267. The following provisions shall apply not only to future cases but also to
those pending on the date this Code becomes effective:
(1) Article 29, Relative to criminal prosecutions wherein the accused is acquitted on
the ground that his guilt has not been proved beyond reasonable doubt;

(2) Article 33, concerning cases of defamation, fraud, and physical injuries. (n)

Art. 2268. Suits between members of the same family which are pending at the time
this Code goes into effect shall be suspended, under such terms as the court may
determine, in order that compromise may be earnestly sought, or, in case of legal
separation proceedings, for the purpose of effecting, if possible, a reconciliation. (n)
Art. 2269. The principles upon which the preceding transitional provisions are
based shall, by analogy, be applied to cases not specifically regulated by them. (Rule
13a)


RPC 22

Art. 22. Retroactive effect of penal laws. Penal Laws shall have a retroactive effect
insofar as they favor the persons guilty of a felony, who is not a habitual criminal, as
this term is defined in Rule 5 of Article 62 of this Code, although at the time of the
publication of such laws a final sentence has been pronounced and the convict is
serving the same.


NCC 301

Art. 301. The right to receive support cannot be renounced; nor can it be
transmitted to a third person. Neither can it be compensated with what the recipient
owes the obligor.

However, support in arrears may be compensated and renounced, and the right to
demand the same may be transmitted by onerous or gratuitous title. (151)


Consti Art 8 Sec 3

Section 3. The Judiciary shall enjoy fiscal autonomy. Appropriations for the Judiciary
may not be reduced by the legislature below the amount appropriated for the
previous year and, after approval, shall be automatically and regularly released.


RPC 5

Art. 5. Duty of the court in connection with acts which should be repressed but
which are not covered by the law, and in cases of excessive penalties. Whenever a
court has knowledge of any act which it may deem proper to repress and which is
not punishable by law, it shall render the proper decision, and shall report to the
Chief Executive, through the Department of Justice, the reasons which induce the
court to believe that said act should be made the subject of legislation.
In the same way, the court shall submit to the Chief Executive, through the
Department of Justice, such statement as may be deemed proper, without
suspending the execution of the sentence, when a strict enforcement of the
provisions of this Code would result in the imposition of a clearly excessive penalty,
taking into consideration the degree of malice and the injury caused by the offense.


CONSTI Art 12 Sec 5

Section 5. The State, subject to the provisions of this Constitution and national
development policies and programs, shall protect the rights of indigenous cultural
communities to their ancestral lands to ensure their economic, social, and cultural
well-being.

The Congress may provide for the applicability of customary laws governing
property rights or relations in determining the ownership and extent of ancestral
domain.


ROC Rule 129 (2) (3)

Sec. 2 . Judicial notice, when discretionary. A court may take judicial notice of
matters which are of public knowledge, or are capable to unquestionable
demonstration, or ought to be known to judges because of their judicial functions.
(1a)

Sec. 3 . Judicial notice, when hearing necessary. During the trial, the court, on its
own initiative, or on request of a party, may announce its intention to take judicial
notice of any matter and allow the parties to be heard thereon.

RULE 28
PHYSICAL AND MENTAL EXAMINATION OF PERSONS
Section 1. When examination may be ordered.
In an action in which the mental or physical condition of a party is in controversy,
the court in which the action is pending may in its discretion order him to submit to
a physical or mental examination by a physician.

Sec. 2. Order for examination.
The order for examination may be made only on motion for good cause shown and
upon notice to the party to be examined and to all other parties, and shall specify the
time, place, manner, conditions and scope of the examination and the person or
persons by whom it is to be made.

Sec. 3. Report of findings.
If requested by the party examined, the party causing the examination to be made
shall deliver to him a copy of a detailed written report of the examining physician
setting out his findings and conclusions. After such request and delivery, the party
causing the examination to be made shall be entitled upon request to receive from
the party examined a like report of any examination, previously or thereafter made,
of the same mental or physical condition. If the party examined refuses to deliver
such report, the court on motion and notice may make an order requiring delivery
on such terms as are just, and if a physician fails or refuses to make such a report the
court may exclude his testimony if offered at the trial.

Sec. 4. Waiver of privilege.
By requesting and obtaining a report of the examination so ordered or by taking the
deposition of the examiner, the party examined waives any privilege he may have in
that action or any other involving the same controversy, regarding the testimony of
every other person who has examined or may thereafter examine him in respect of
the same mental or physical examination.


RAC Sec 31

Sec. 31. Legal Periods. - "Year" shall be understood to be twelve calendar months;
"month" of thirty days, unless it refers to a specific calendar month in which case it
shall be computed according to the number of days the specific month contains;
"day," to a day of twenty-four hours; and "night," from sunset to sunrise.