STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION

I.

MIDTERM REVIEWER

BAM MEDINA

GENERAL PRINCIPLES | STATUTES 1987 Constitution o Article VI Section 24 All appropriation, revenue or tariff bills, bills authorizing increase of the public debt, bills of local application, and private bills, shall originate exclusively in the House of Representatives, but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments. o Article VI Section 26 (1) Every bill passed by the Congress shall embrace only one subject which shall be expressed in the title thereof. (2) No bill passed by either House shall become a law unless it has passed three readings on separate days, and printed copies thereof in its final form have been distributed to its Members three days before its passage, except when the President certifies to the necessity of its immediate enactment to meet a public calamity or emergency. Upon the last reading of a bill, no amendment thereto shall be allowed, and the vote thereon shall be taken immediately thereafter, and the yeas and nays entered in the Journal. o Article VI Section 27 (1) Every bill passed by the Congress shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the President. If he approves the same he shall sign it; otherwise, he shall veto it and return the same with his objections to the House where it originated, which shall enter the objections at large in its Journal and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of all the Members of such House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of all the Members of that House, it shall become a law. In all

such cases, the votes of each House shall be determined by yeas or nays, and the names of the Members voting for or against shall be entered in its Journal. The President shall communicate his veto of any bill to the House where it originated within thirty days after the date of receipt thereof, otherwise, it shall become a law as if he had signed it. (2) The President shall have the power to veto any particular item or items in an appropriation, revenue, or tariff bill, but the veto shall not affect the item or items to which he does not object. o Article VII Section 4 (1) The Supreme Court shall be composed of a Chief Justice and fourteen Associate Justices. It may sit en banc or in its discretion, in division of three, five, or seven Members. Any vacancy shall be filled within ninety days from the occurrence thereof. (2) All cases involving the constitutionality of a treaty, international or executive agreement, or law, which shall be heard by the Supreme Court en banc, and all other cases which under the Rules of Court are required to be heard en banc, including those involving the constitutionality, application, or operation of presidential decrees, proclamations, orders, instructions, ordinances, and other regulations, shall be decided with the concurrence of a majority of the Members who actually took part in the deliberations on the issues in the case and voted thereon. (3) Cases or matters heard by a division shall be decided or resolved with the concurrence of a majority of the Members who actually took part in the deliberations on the issues in the case and voted thereon, and in no case without the concurrence of at least three of such Members. When the required number is not obtained, the case shall be decided en banc: Provided, 1

STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION

MIDTERM REVIEWER

BAM MEDINA

that no doctrine or principle of law laid down by the court in a decision rendered en banc or in division may be modified or reversed except by the court sitting en banc. Civil Code of the Philippines: o Art. 2. Laws shall take effect after fifteen days following the completion of their publication in the Official Gazette, unless it is otherwise provided. This Code shall take effect one year after such publication. o Art. 7. Laws are repealed only by subsequent ones, and their violation or non-observance shall not be excused by disuse, or custom or practice to the contrary. When the courts declared a law to be inconsistent with the Constitution, the former shall be void and the latter shall govern. Administrative or executive acts, orders and regulations shall be valid only when they are not contrary to the laws or the Constitution. o Art. 8. Judicial decisions applying or interpreting the laws or the Constitution shall form a part of the legal system of the Philippines. o Art. 9. No judge or court shall decline to render judgment by reason of the silence, obscurity or insufficiency of the laws. o Art. 10. In case of doubt in the interpretation or application of laws, it is presumed that the lawmaking body intended right and justice to prevail. o Art. 11. Customs which are contrary to law, public order or public policy shall not be countenanced. o Art. 12. A custom must be proved as a fact, according to the rules of evidence. o Art. 13. When the laws speak of years, months, days or nights, it shall be understood that years are of three hundred sixty-five days each; months, of thirty days; days, of twenty-four hours; and nights from sunset to sunrise.

If months are designated by their name, they shall be computed by the number of days which they respectively have. In computing a period, the first day shall be excluded, and the last day included. LAUREL o Construction art or process of discovering and expounding the meaning and the intention of the authors of law with respect to its application to a given case. o Statute will of legislature therefore it is to be expounded according to the intent made by them o If the legislative intent is not clear after the completion of interpretation, then the courts will proceed to subject the statute to construction. o Rules in interpreting statutes: The first and fundamental duty of the court is apply the law (DURA LEX SED LEX) When the state is clear and explicit there is no room for extended ratiocination or rationalization of the law. When a statute is clear and unambiguous in its face it need not be interpreted. Statute should be read as a whole The spirit rather than the letter of the law, determines its construction; hence a statute must be read according to its spirit and intent AGPALO o Law Jural and Generic sense a whole body or system of law Jural and Concrete sense rule of conduct formulated and made obligatory by legitimate power of the state o Statute act of legislature 2

STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION
o o

MIDTERM REVIEWER

BAM MEDINA

passed according to the procedure required to constitute it as part of the law of the land Types of statutes: Public Private Permanent Temporary Retroactive Prospective Declaratory Curative Mandatory Directory Substantive Remedial Penal Affirmative Negative Parts of a statute: Preamble explanation, reciting the purpose, reason, or occasion for making the law Title of the statute shall embrace only one subject; this is mandatory if a law passed has to subjects which is not expressed in the title it will be deemed unconstitutional. This is to prohibit (1) log rolling legislation, (2) fraud, (3) and to fairly apprise the people. Enacting clause states the authority by which the act is enacted. Purview or body of statute tells us what the law is all about; should embrace only one subject matter. Separability clause states that if any part of the statute is declared invalid the remaining shall not be affected thereby

Repealing clause courts have the power to declare a law unconstitutional Effectivity clause - when the law takes effect o Enrolled bill passed by congress and senate and signed by the president; binding in courts CASES: a. National Federation of Labor v. Eisma (127 SCRA 419) LABOR UNION STRIKE FACTS: Employer filed a suit for the damages for obstruction of private property against its labor union. The RTC denied the unions motion to dismiss the case. The union thus filed a petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court. ISSUE: Does the RTC have jurisdiction over the case? HELD: Article 217 is to be applied how it was worded. Labor arbiters have exclusive jurisdiction, RTC acted beyond its scope by entertaining the case. b. People v. Mapa (20 SCRA 1164) SECRET AGENT FACTS: Mapa was accused and convicted of illegal possession of firearms under section 878 of the revised administrative code. Mapas defense was that he was a secret agent and thus was exempted. ISSUE: Does Mapa fall under the exemption? HELD: No provision is made of a secret agent. 3

STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION

MIDTERM REVIEWER

BAM MEDINA
* In statutory construction where the statue is clear and unambiguous, there is no need for interpretations. The law shall be applied as written and it is the sole duty of the courts to do so.

*DURA LEX SED LEX (fundamental duty of the court is to apply the law); construction and interpretation come only after it has been demonstrated that the application is impossible or inadequate without them. c. Daoang v. Mun. Judge of San Nicolas (159 SCRA 369) ADOPTION FACTS: Agonoys filed a petition for adoption of two minors. Their grandchildren (Children of their deceased daughter) opposed to the said adoption arguing that their grandparents were disqualified under Article 335 of the Civil code mentioning those who cannot adopt. HELD: Paragraph 1 of Article 335 of the Civil code is firm in their definition of children (this do not include grandchildren. *when the law is clear and unambiguous on its face it need noit ve interpreted, verbal egis. d. Republic v. Estenzo (99 SCRA 651) CADASTRA LAND FACTS: September 1940 land was proclaimed public, on February 1972, petition was barred because of the expiration period stated under RA 6236. ISSUE: Does RA 6236 extend the time limit of filing of applications for free patent and for judicial confirmation of incomplete title apply to reopening of cadastral proceedings? HELD: NO, it is not expressed in RA 6236.

e. Globe-Mackay v. NLRC (206 SCRA 701) PREVENTIVE SUSPENSION FACTS: GMRC suspended employee Salazar, Salazar the questions the suspension and files a case in the NLRC. ISSUE: Was there cause for the dismissal of Imelda Salazar? No, according to Article 279 of the Labor code the employer shall not terminate the services of the employee except for a just case; in the case there was no valid ground for termination since the allegations were not proven to be true. There is no legal ground to hold Salazar responsible to the allegations. Therefore she is considered unlawfully dismissed. f. Pascual v. Pascual- Bautista (207 SCRA 561) ILLEGITIMACY FACTS: Petitioners Olivia and Hermes both surnamed Pascual are the acknowledged natural children of the late Eligio Pascual, the latter being the full blood brother of the decedent Don Andres Pascual. Adela Soldevilla de Pascual, the surviving spouse of the late Don Andres Pascual, filed with the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 162 (CFI of Rizal, Br. XXIII), a Special Proceeding, Case No. 7554, for administration of the intestate estate of her late husband. Eligio Pascual is considered as legitimate child yet Olivia and Hermes are his illegitimate children.

STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION

MIDTERM REVIEWER

BAM MEDINA
Facts: HDMF provides waiver or suspension of coverage granted in favor of the employer who have their own provident/retirement AND/OR employee housing plans According to the court AND/OR doesnt mean both.

The word legitimate was clearly stated petitioners cannot be counted under legitimate *when the law is clear, it is not susceptible to interpretation. It must be applied regardless of who may affected, even if the law may be harsh and erroneous. g. Astorga v. Villegas, 56 SCRA 714 [1974] WIDRAWAL OF SIGNATURES FACTS: HB 9266 was passed as RA 4065, but the senate president and the speaker of the house withdrew their signatures because the law passed was not that intended to be passed (major amendments that the senate made was not included in the final copy). *bill was not duly enacted h. Lidasan v. Comelec, 21 SCRA 496 (1967) ONE SUBJECT PER LAW POLICY new municipality FACTS: questioning RA 4790 An Act Creating the Municipality of Dianaton in the Province of Lanao del Sur on the ground that it is unconstitutional for it includes barrios located in another province. RA 4790 was declared null and void because it was not mentioned in the title that such barrios are included and that these people are directly affected by this. Title did not inform the people reading it the full impact of the law. i. China Banking Corporation v. The Members of Board of Trustees, Home Devt Mutual Fund, 307 SCRA 443 (1999) AND/OR

j.

Tanada v Tuvera, 136 SCRA 27 [1985]; 146 SCRA 446 [1986] OFFICIAL GAZETTE Before the public is bound by the provisions of law, they must be published. When the law does not provide for an effectivity date publication is necessary

k. Phil Veterans Bank Employees Union v Vega, 360 SCRA 33 [2001] l. Phil. International Trading Corp. v COA, 263 SCRA 421 [1999]