CONSTI In re: Art VII Sec.

17

Biraogo vs Philippine Truth Commission

G.R. No. 193036; December 7, 2010
Mendoza, J.
FACTS:
Petitioner Louis Biraogo, in his capacity as a citizen and taxpayer, assails Executive Order
No. 1 for being violative of the legislative power of Congress under Section 1, Article VI of
the Constitution as it usurps the constitutional authority of the legislature to create a
public office and to appropriate funds therefor.
The genesis of this case can be traced to the events prior to the historic May 2010
elections, when then Senator Benigno Simeon Aquino III declared his staunch
condemnation of graft and corruption with his slogan, "Kung walang corrupt, walang
mahirap." The Filipino people, convinced of his sincerity and of his ability to carry out this
noble objective, catapulted the good senator to the presidency. To transform his campaign
slogan into reality, President Aquino found a need for a special body to investigate
reported cases of graft and corruption allegedly committed during the previous
administration. Thus, at the dawn of his administration, the President on July 30, 2010,
signed Executive Order No. 1 establishing the Philippine Truth Commission of 2010 (Truth
Commission).
The petitioner asserts that the Truth Commission is a public office and not merely an
adjunct body of the Office of the President. Thus, in order that the President may create a
public office he must be empowered by the Constitution, a statute or an authorization
vested in him by law. The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) counters that there is
nothing exclusively legislative about the creation by the President of a fact-finding body
such as a truth commission. The Executive, just like the other two branches of
government, possesses the inherent authority to create fact-finding committees to assist it
in the performance of its constitutionally mandated functions and in the exercise of its
administrative functions. This power, as the OSG explains it, is but an adjunct of the
plenary powers wielded by the President under Section 1 and his power of control under
Section 17, both of Article VII of the Constitution.
ISSUE:
Whether or not the President validly established the Truth Commission in accordance with
Art VII Sec 17 of the Constitution.
HELD:
Yes. The creation of the Truth Commission finds justification under Section 17, Article VII of
the Constitution, imposing upon the President the duty to ensure that the laws are
faithfully executed. That the authority of the President to conduct investigations and to
create bodies to execute this power is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution or in
statutes does not mean that he is bereft of such authority. Indeed, the Executive is given
much leeway in ensuring that our laws are faithfully executed. As stated above, the
powers of the President are not limited to those specific powers under the Constitution.
One of the recognized powers of the President granted pursuant to this constitutionallymandated duty is the power to create ad hoc committees. This flows from the obvious
need to ascertain facts and determine if laws have been faithfully executed. As the Chief
Executive, the president represents the government as a whole and sees to it that all laws
are enforced by the officials and employees of his department. He has the authority to
directly assume the functions of the executive department. Invoking this authority, the
President constituted the PTC to primarily investigate reports of graft and corruption and
to recommend the appropriate action.
Additional info:

CONSTI In re: Art VII Sec. 17

E.O. No. 1 has been struck down as UNCONSTITUTIONAL in so far as it VIOLATES THE EQUAL
PROTECTION CLAUSE. The clear mandate of the envisioned truth commission is to investigate
and find out the truth "concerning the reported cases of graft and corruption during the previous
administration" 87 only. The intent to single out the previous administration is plain, patent and
manifest. Mention of it has been made in at least three portions of the questioned executive order.