Statutory Construction Reviewer

Chapter 1
Laws whole body or system of law; a rule of conduct formulated and made obligatory by legitimate
power of the state
Ex.
Presidential issuances
- Executive orders: providing rules of a general or permanent character in implementation or
execution of constitutional or statutory powers
- Administrative orders: relate to particular aspects of the government operations in pursuance of
his duties as administrative head
- Proclamations: fixing a date or declaring a status or condition of public moment or interest
- Memorandum orders: matters of administrative detail or subordinate or temporary interest
which only concern a particular officer or office of the government
- Memorandum circulars: matters relating to internal administration
- General or special orders: acts and commands of the president in his capacity as commander-in-
chief of the AFP
rulings of SC
rules and regulations promulgated by administrative or executive officers pursuant to delegated power
- Germane to the objects and purposes of the law
- requisites
o Promulgation must be authorized by the legislature
o Promulgated in accordance with the prescribed procedure
o Must be within the scope of the authority given by the legislature
o reasonable

ordinances
- barangay ordinance: sangguniang barangay; subject to the review by the sangguaniang bayan or
sangguniang panlungsod; take action on the ordinance within 30 days from submission
- municipal ordinance: sangguniang bayan; submitted to the municipal mayor within 10 days from
receipt thereof (approval or veto)
o if vetoed, 2/3 vote of all the member override the veto
o if approved, submitted to sangguniang panlalawigan for review within 30 days from
receipt of the ordinance
- city ordinance: sangguniang panlungsod; submitted to the mayor; 10 days from receipt thereof;
sangguniang panlalawigan for review within 30 days from receipt
- provincial ordinance: sangguniang panlalawigan; forwarded to the governor who within 15 days
from receipt thereof must veto or approve
o veto may be override by 2/3 vote of all the members

Statutes act of the legislature as an organized body, expressed in the form, and passed according to
the procedure, required to constitute it as a part of the law of the land
Public statutes affects the public at large or the whole community
Private statutes applies only to a specific person or subject
General Law applies to the while state and operates throughout the state alike upon all the people or
all of a class
Special law relates to particular persons or things of a class or to a particular community, individual, or
thing
Local law operation is confined to a specific place or locality
Permanent statutes operation is not limited in duration but continues until repealed
Temporary statue statute whose duration is for limited period of time fixed in the statute itself or
ceases upon the happening of an event
According to applications prospective or retroactive
According to operations declaratory, curative, mandatory, directory, substantive, remedial, penal
According to forms affirmative or negative
Manner of referring to statutes
1. Consecutively numbered and identified by the respective authorities
2. Presidential decrees are serially numbered
3. Title
Congress of the Philippines senate + house of representatives
House of representatives filing revenue, tariff or tax bills, bills of local applications
Procedural requirement in enacting a law only in the manner the constitution requires and in
accordance with the procedure therein provided; congress provides in detail the procedure by which a
bill may be enacted into law; law may not be declared unconstitutional when what has been violated in
its passage are merely internal rules or procedure of the house
Steps in the passage of bill into law
- A bill is a proposed legislative measure introduced by a member or members of Congress for
enactment into law; signed by its authors and filed with the secretary of the house
1. Secretary reports the bill for first reading
o Reading the number and title of the bill, followed by its referral to the appropriate
committee for study and recommendation. Committee may hold public hearings and
submits its report and recommendation for calendar for second reading
2. Second reading
o Bill shall be read in full with the amendments proposed by the committee unless copies
thereof are distributed and such reading is dispensed with
o Subject to debates, pertinent motions, and amendments
o Voted: if approved, included in the calendar of bills for third reading
3. Third reading
o Final vote of yeas and nays
4. Bill is transmitted to the other house for concurrence then follow the same route as a bill
originally filed with it
o If without amendment, transmitted to the president for appropriate action
o If with amendment, differences will be settled by the conference committees of both
chambers
Conference committee mechanism for compromising differences between the
senate and the house in passage of the law
If approved, final version, conclusive under the doctrine of enrolled bill
5. Authentication of bills
o Signed by the speaker and senate president of the printed copy of the enrolled bill,
certified by the respective secretaries of both houses
6. Approval of the president
o If approves, he shall sign it
o If vetoed, return the same with his objections to the house where it originated
2/3 agrees to pass the bill, it shall be sent together with the objections to the
other house
2/3 of the other house approves, it will become a law
o If he did not vetoed within 30 days after the receipt, it shall become a law
Parts of statutes
- Preamble prefatory statement or explanation or a finding of facts, reciting the purpose,
reason, or occasion for making the law to which it is prefixed
- Title shall embrace only one subject which shall be expressed in the title thereof; mandatory
o Reason: refrain from conglomeration of heterogeneous subjects; couched in a language
sufficient to notify the legislators and the public and those concerned of the import of
the single subject thereof
o Purpose: apprise the legislators of the object, nature and scope of the provisions of the
bill; to prevent the enactment into law of matters which have not received the notice,
action and study of the legislators; prohibits duplicity in legislation the title; prevent
surprise fraud upon the legislature; prevent hodgepodge or log-rolling legislation; fairly
apprise the people; guide in ascertaining legislative intent when the language of the act
does not clearly express its purpose
o Must be liberally construed; in favor of the constitutionality of the statute
o Where a statute repeals a former law, such repeal is the effect and not the subject of
the statute
o If insufficient, it is null and void
- Enacting clause states the authority by which the act is enacted
- Purview or body tells what the law is all about
- Separability clause states that if any provision of the act is declared invalid, the remainder shall
not be affected thereby
- Repealing clause declaring the unconstitutionality of the law lie with the courts
- Effectivity clause provision when the law shall take effect
Enactment of budget and appropriation law
- Budget preparation, budget authorization, budget execution and budget accountability
- General appropriation bill content is limited to specified sums of money dedicated to specific
purposes or a separate fiscal unit
- Restrictions
o Congress may not increase the appropriations recommended by the president
Power of the purse belongs to the congress subject to the veto of the president
o Each provision must relate specifically to particular appropriation
o Procedure in approving appropriations for the congress shall strictly follow the
procedure for approving appropriations for the other departments and agencies
o Special appropriation bill to specify the purpose
Must be supported by the funds actually available as certified by the national
treasurer
o Restriction on transfer of appropriation
Except the president, president of the senate, speaker of the house, chief
justice, heads of constitutional commission may be authorized to augment any
item in the general appropriations law for their respective offices from savings
in other items of their respective appropriations
o Discretionary funds shall be disbursed only for public purposes to be supported by
appropriate vouchers and subject to such guidelines
o Automatic re-enactment of budget
o Presidents veto power
o No public funds to be spent except by law
o No public money or property for religious purposes
o Money for special purpose
All money collected shall be treated as a special fund and paid out for such
purpose only
Highest budgetary priority to education, directory
Journal each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings and the yeas and nays at the request of 1/5 f
the members present
Power to issue its rules of proceedings each house has the power to issue its own proceedings but it
may not ignore constitutional restraints or violate fundamental rights
In case of conflict between the enrolled bill and the legislative journals, it is the former that should
prevail
Enrolled bill bill passed by congress, authenticated by the speaker and senate president and approved
by the president; it is binding and conclusive
Withdrawal of authenticity when there is serious and substantial discrepancy between the text of the
bill as deliberated in the legislature and shown by the journal and that of the enrolled bill; nullifies the
enrolled bill
SC rule-making power promulgate rules concerning the protection and enforcement of constitutional
rights, pleading, practice, and procedure in all courts, the admission of the practice of law, integrated
bar, and legal assistance to the underprivileged; does not have the power to promulgate rules which are
substantive in nature
Validity of statute final authority to declare a law unconstitutional is the SC en banc by the
concurrence of a majority of the members who actually took part in the deliberation on the issues in the
case and voted thereon
Requisites for exercise of judicial power
1. Existence of appropriate case
a. Bona fide case, raises justiciable controversy and not political questions
2. Standing to sue
a. An interest personal and substantial by the party raising the constitutional question
b. Has sustained or will sustain direct injury as a result of the governmental act that is
being challenged
i. Interest: material interest
3. The plea that the function be exercised at the earliest opportunity
a. Must be raised in a complaint or petition
4. Necessity of deciding constitutionality
a. Necessity that the constitutional question be passed upon in order to decide the case
Lis mota an issue assailing the constitutionality of a governmental act should be avoided whenever
possible
Test of constitutionality
- Unconstitutional because it is not within the legislative power to enact; creates or establishes
methods of forms that infringe constitutional principles; purpose or effect violates the
constitution or its basic principles; vague
Test of validity
1. Must not contravene the constitution or any statute
2. It must not be unfair or oppressive
3. It must not be partial or discriminatory
4. It must not prohibit but may regulate trade
5. It must be general and consistent with public policy
6. It must not be unreasonable
Effects of unconstitutionality it is not a law; it confers no right; it imposes no duties; it affords no
protection; it creates no office; inoperative
- Orthodox view: unconstitutionality is not a law
- Modern view: refuses to recognize it and determines the rights of the parties just as if such
statue had no existence
Invalidity due to change of conditions emergency laws
Partial invalidity where part of the statue is void as repugnant to the constitution, while another part is
valid, the valid portion, if separable from the invalid, may stand and be enforced
When laws take effect civil code article 2 (laws, presidential issuances, rules and regulations)
- Local ordinances: take effect after 10 days from the date a copy thereof is posted in a bulletin
board at the entrance of the provincial capitol or city, municipal, or barangay hall + 2 other
conspicuous palces; posted in Filipino or english or dialect; if theres local newspaper, publish it
Manner of computing time see article 13 of the civil code
Chapter 2
Construction it is the art or process of discovering or expounding the meaning and intention of the
authors of the law; drawing of warranted conclusions respective subjects that lie beyond the direct
expression of the text, conclusion which are in the spirit, though not within the letter of the text;
involves the exercise of choice by the judiciary; process of drawing warranted conclusions not always
included in direct expressions, or determining the application of words to the facts in litigation
Interpretation art of finding the true meaning and sense of any form of words
Rules of construction tools used to ascertain legislative intent; be construed in accordance with the
settled principle of interpretation; when there is ambiguity in the language of a statute, courts may
employ canons of statutory construction to ascertain its true intent and meaning; legislature sometimes
adopt rules of statutory construction as part of the provisions of the statute except when legislature
defines the words and phrases used therein
Purpose or object of construction ascertain and give effect to the intent of the law; determine the
legislative intent
Legislative intent spirit which gives life to legislative enactment
- Hence, when a statute is susceptible of more than one construction, that construction should be
adopted which will most tend to give effect to the manifest intent of the legislature
Legislative purpose reason why a particular statute was enacted by the legislature
Legislative meaning what the law, by its language, means; if there is ambiguity, its purpose may
indicate the meaning of the language and lead to what the legislative intent is
Matters inquired into in construing a statute necessary to see whether the intention or meaning has
been expressed in such a way as to give it legal effect and validity
Where legislative intent is ascertained statute itself (its meaning and the intention of the legislature
must be determined from the language employed); legislative history; circumstance; what evil was
meant to be redressed; purpose
Construction is a judicial function court has the final word as to what the law means
A case is moot and academic when its purpose has become stale or where no practical relief can be
granted or which can have no practical effect
- Can be resolved by the court if public interest requires its resolution or would be of practical
value
Courts decides concrete and controverted cases based on the facts and the law involved
Legislature cannot overrule judicial construction
When judicial interpretation may be set aside SC may change or overrule its previous construction;
theres amendment
When court may construe a statute when there is doubt
Ambiguity a condition of having two or more meanings, of being understood in more than one way or
of referring to two or more things at the same time
When laws are clear (free from doubt), it is incumbent upon the judge to apply them regardless of
personal belief or predilections
When the law is clear and unambiguous, it must be taken to mean exactly what it says and the court has
no choice but to see to it that its mandate is obeyed
If free from ambiguity, the court may not introduce exceptions or conditions
Where the statue is clear, plain and free from ambiguity, it must be given its literal meaning and applied
without interpretation (verba legis)
Rulings of SC as part of the legal system article 8 or the civil code
Judicial rulings have no retroactive effect article 4 of the civil code
Only SC en banc can modify or abandon principle of law, not any division of the court
Court may issue guidelines in construing statute
Limitations on power to construe
1. Courts may not enlarge nor restrict statutes
2. Courts not to be influenced by question of wisdom