INTRODUCTION

Statutory Construction
-

Art of seeking the intention of the legislature

in enacting a statute and of applying it to
a given state of facts

CONSTRUCTION
Of Written Law:
Discovering and
expounding the
meaning and intention
of the authors of the
law with respect to its
application to a given
case, where that
intention is rendered
doubtful either by
reason of apparently
conflicting provisions or
directions, or by reason
of the fact that the
given case is not
explicitly provided for in
the law.

INTERPRETATION
Of Written Law:
Discovering and
expounding the
intended signification of
the language used in
the law, that is the
meaning which the
authors designed to
convey to others

Goes beyond and may

call in the aid of
extrinsic consideration

Limited to exploring the

written text

Drawing of conclusions
respecting subjects that
lie beyond the direct
expressions of the text,
from elements known
from and given in the
text; conclusions which
are in the spirit, though
not within the letter of

Act of finding out the

true sense and
meaning of the words

the text

Comparati
ve

Resorted to in
comparing two different
enactments of the
same legislative body,
there is found a
contradiction where
there was evidently no
intention of such
contradiction one of
another, or where it
happens that part of a
writing or declaration
contradicts the rest

Only takes place if the

text conveys some
meaning or other

ORDINARY KINDS OF
INTERPRETATION AND CONSTRUCTION
Strict

Liberal
Prospectiv
e
Retrospect
ive
Artificial,
Forced, or
Strained

Adheres to the letter, which

recognizes nothing that is not
expressed, takes the language
used in its exact and technical
meaning, and admits to equitable
considerations or implications
Anti-thesis
Makes the provision of the text
apply not only to future cases or
transactions
Applies not only to future cases but
also to transactions already past
Words of the law are wrested from
their plain and obvious meaning,
and made to bear an entirely
different meaning for the sake of
avoiding an absurd or unjust
consequence

Seeks to arrive at the meaning of a

statute by comparing its several
parts with each other, and also by
comparing it as a whole with other
statutes proceeding from the same
source and referring to the same
general subject

Methods of Interpretation
1) Verba legis- very words of the law itself
2) Bacio legis- occasion of making the law
3) Mans Legislatoris- intention of the maker

Legal Hermeneutics
-

Branch of science which establishes the

principles and rules of interpretation and
construction of written laws
The application of which is termed as
EXEGESIS.

The power to construe the law is essentially

judicial
- It is the duty of the courts to construe
statutes for the purpose of determining
whether a particular act or omission falls
within their intended scope or prohibition
-

But this duty may not, under the guise of

interpretation, be expanded to include the
power to modify, amend, remodel or rewrite
a statute. This would not be construction
anymore but judicial legislation, a
usurpation of the power of the legislature.

It can only be exercised on real and actual

controversies

Legislature cannot bind courts to a particular

construction of an existing law
- The legislature cannot declare that the
statute it has passed shall be so construed
as not to violate a constitutional inhibition

Executive construction of Statutes

- Under proper circumstances, some aid may
be derived from executive construction of
statutes, like the opinions of JSec.

Administrative interpretation should be given

weight
- The interpretative regulations by officers,
administrative agencies, det. Heads and
others officially charged with the duty of
administering or enforcing a statute carries
great weight in determining its operation
Courts should respect the contemporaneous
construction of a statute by the executive
officers who enforce it
- Reason: such construction comes from the
particular branch of government called upon
to implement the particular law involved.
- Executive construction, though often
accepted by the judiciary, however, is NOT
binding upon the courts
Construction of statute where part of it is
void
- Where part of a statute is void while the
other part is valid, the valid portion, if
separable from the invalid, may stand and
be enforced.

The valid portion must be so far independent

of the invalid portion that it is fair to
presume that the legislature would have
enacted it by itself if they had supposed that
they could not constitutionally enact the
other.
Enough must remain to make a complete,
intelligible, and valid statute which carries
out the legislative intent. the void provisions
must be eliminated without affecting the
main purpose of the Act in a manner
contrary to the intention of the Legislature.

Purpose of construction
- To ascertain the meaning and intention of
the legislature so that the same may be
enforced since the legislative intent is the
vital part, the heart, the soul and the
essence of the law
-

The intention of the legislature must be

ascertained and given effect

The exceptions in the law will not be enlarged

beyond signification of the words used or
extended beyond the limits which the words
themselves actually set
- Courts should not incorporate matters not
provided in the law by judicial ruling
- Where the law does not distinguish, the
court should not distinguish

Legislative Intent
-

Objective footprints left on the trail of

legislative enactment
An interpretation which gives effect to the
intent of the law and is keeping with the

modern trend of similar statutes should be

followed
It can only be discovered by a history of the
statutes enactment, the evil which the
legislature aimed to prevent or cure thereby
and other like circumstances.

Every statute must receive a construction

which will harmonize with the pre-existing
body of laws
- A statutes clauses and phrases must not be
taken separately but in its relation to the
statutes totality. Each statute must be
harmonized with the pre-existing body of
laws.
A statutory provision is deemed enacted
pursuant to the legislative policy embodied in
prior statutes relating to the same subject
matter
- When a legislature enacts a provision, it is
understood that it is aware of previous
statutes relating to the same subject matter
and that in the absence of any express
repeal or amendment therein, the new
provision should be deemed enacted
pursuant to the legislative policy embodied
in the prior statutes.
Courts must give effect to the general
legislative intent that it can be discovered
from or is unraveled by the four corners of
the statute, and in order to discover said
intent, the whole statute, and not only a
particular provision thereof, should be
considered.

RULES OF CONSTRUCTION
Scope of Application
- Where the language of the statute is plain,
clear, and definite, there is no need to
resort to the rules of statutory construction
-

It is open to construction only where the

language is ambiguous or where it will admit
of two or more constructions or is of such
doubtful
or
obscure
meaning,
that
reasonable minds might be uncertain or
disagree as to its meaning.

Ambiguity. Doubtfulness, doubleness of

meaning, or indistinctness, or uncertainty of
meaning of the expression used in a written
instrument

If there is any obscurity of ambiguity in the

interpretation of a contract, the same shall
not favor the party who caused the obscurity
or ambiguity.

Not mandatory upon the courts; they only

serve as mere suggestion

But a long and uniform construction given to

a statute amounts to a positive law (Art. 8,
Civil Code: judicial decisions interpreting the
laws or the Constitution form a part of our
legal system)

IGNORANTIA LEGIS NEMINEM EXCUSAT

- ignorance of the law excuses no one.

the authoritative interpretation put upon the

written law by the courts acquire the force of
law, by becoming, as it were, a part of the
statute itself.
The interpretation placed by the court
upon a statute constitutes a part of it
as of the date it was originally passed.
Since the courts construction merely
establishes the contemporaneous legislative
intent that the interpreted law carried into
effect

EJUS EST INTERPRETARI CUJUS EST CONDERE

- It is for him to interpret who is to enact

CHAPTER II
SUBJECTS OF CONSTRUCTION
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Constitution
Statutes
Resolutions
Ordinances
Presidential Issuances

Kinds of Written Laws for

Purposes of Construction
1) Organic Law Law and Constitution
Organic Law
- defines and establishes the organization of
the government
Constitution
- Written
instrument
by
which
the
fundamental powers of the government are
established, limited and defined, and by
which those powers are distributed among
the several departments for their safe and
useful exercise for the benefit of the body
politic
- Body of rules and maxims in accordance with
which the power of sovereignty are
habitually exercised; fundamental law of the
land which all other laws must conform
- NATURE: not the origin of private rights,
neither is it the grantor of any right, nor the
beginning of government; it only recognizes
and declares the inherent rights or preexisting rights and prerogatives of a free
people; it sets up the framework of
governmental machinery

LEGIS INTERPRETATION LEGIS VIM OBTINET

Constitution
Statute
Lays
down
general Has to set in detail its
principles
and
the purposes or the subject
foundation
of matter of which it
government
treats
Relatively PERMANENT TENTATIVE
character
***Note: Common parts of Constitution
Constitution of Liberty: series of prescriptions
setting forth the fundamental civil and political
rights of the citizens with correlative limitations
on the power of government as a means of
securing the full enjoyment of those rights;
Constitution of Govt: set of provisions setting
up the governmental framework
Constitution of Sovereignty: provision or set
of it prescribing the procedure for amending the
constitution
Kinds of Constitution
1. Written and Unwritten:
written if it is embodied in a single formal
document or set of documents which is a
product of a deliberate effort to lay down the
fundamental principles in accordance with which
the government shall be organized and
conducted.
Unwritten is one whose provisions have not
been reduced into writing and formally
embodied in a single document/s consisting
largely of a mass of customs, usages, and
judicial decisions together with a few legislative
enactments of a fundamental character.

Whatever is necessary to render effective

any provision of a constitution, w/n the
same is a prohibition or a restriction, or
the grant of a power, must be deemed
implied and intended in the provision
itself
By resort to other considerations
Borrowed provisions
Contemporaneous and long-continued
construction
Fundamental principle
o If
universally
adopted
and
acquiesced in for a long period of
time,
is
valuable
aid
in
determining
meaning
and
intention in cases of doubt
Meaning
of
contemporaneous
construction
o The construction put upon the
language and meaning of the
constitution, at the time of the
adoption, and shortly thereafter,
by members of the convention
which framed it or by other
learned men who expressed their
opinions in that regard publicly,
though not judicially

2. Cumulative and Conventional:

Cumulative: origin lies mainly in customs,
common law, judicial decisions, and the like. It is
the product of evolution and growth rather than
of deliberate and formal enactment.
Conventional: enacted constitution is one which
has been formulated either by a constitutional
convention or by a royal proclamation.
3. Rigid and Flexible
Rigid: legally stands over and above ordinary
laws and which may be amended only thru
proceedings
different
from
the
ordinary
legislative proceedings.
Flexible: has no more legal force and authority
than ordinary legislative enactments. It may be
amended at anytime thru ordinary legislative
proceedings.
CONSTITUTION CONSTRUCTION RULES
1. Effectuation of the intent of the framers
How?
- By resort to natural signification of the words
used
In its obvious meaning at the time of the
adoption
Technical terms must be given their
technical meaning
- By considering the old law, mischief, and
remedy
- By referring to debates and proceedings of
convention
- Doctrine of Implications

2. Uniformity and Stability:

uniform interpretation

consistent

&

3. Flexibility: the courts are not inclined to adopt

technical and straint construction as will unduly
impair the inefficiency of the legislature to meet
responsibilities by occasions changing the
conditions of the society; it must be interpreted
by the spirit which vivifies, not on the letter
which kills.

4. Liberality: expected to be effective over a

longer period of time than a statute; method of
amendment is more cumbersome than the
legislative process; it cannot be carried out with
mathematical
nicety
to
methodological
extremes; not to be interpreted on narrow or
technical principles, but liberally and on broad
general line, in order that it may accomplish the
objects of its establishment and carry out the
great principles of the government. It is
intended for the benefit of the people, and must
receive a liberal construction
5. Practicality: should not be disregarded unless
the terms of the provision furnish () and definite
support to the contrary
Nature: the construction put upon it by the
legislative body, which is charged with
themaking of laws in accordance of the
constitution, or by the officers of the executive
department whose function is to put into
execution the constitution and the laws.
Though not conclusive, entitled to great
weight
6. Mandatory Nature of Provisions: invariably
mandatory (must and shall); GR: constitutional
provisions
are
mandatory
unless
it
is
unmistakably manifest that provision is intended
to be merely directory
Self executing provisions: general
presumption
It is so if there is no legislation necessary
to give effect to it
Maybe self-executing without being
mandatory

W/N it merely lays down general

principles or provides sufficient rules by
which the right which it grants may be
enforced or protected, or the duty it
imposes may be enforced, without aid of
legislative enactment?
W/N provision or language thereof is
addressed to the legislature to the court.
If the former it is not self-executing, if the
latter, it is self-executing
Absence of express remedies for
enforcing right or liability does not make
provision not self-executing
***UBI JUS, IBI REMEDIUM. Where
there is right, there is remedy.
Constitutional mandate self- executing
even
though
suppletory
legislation
needed to make provision fully operative

7. Purpose to be given effect: suppress the

mischief at which it is aimed; the spirit of the
provision must prevail
Notes:
1. Must be construed as a whole
2. Every part of the constitution should be
given effect
3. Conflicting
provisions
must
be
harmonized
4. Ordinary meaning of the words
5. By implication
6. Injustice and inconvenience
7. Preamble and titles
8. Schedule
9. Stare decisis

Test to Determine w/n SEP

2. Statute or Statute Law

- Statute is the written will of the legislature
rendered authentic by certain prescribed
forms and solemnities prescribing rules of
action or civil conduct
- Laws directly passed by the legislative body
of the state
Kinds of Statutes
1) General Classification
a) Public Act universal rule that regards
the whole community. But while a
public act is usually general in its
character and operation, and equally
applicable in all parts of the state, a
statute will not be deemed private
merely because it extends only to
particular localities or classes of persons
(ie Anti-subversive Act)
b) Private Act one which relates to,
concerns
and
affects
particular
individuals.
Private
acts
specially
enumerate by name the person, political
subdivision or classes or persons affected
in a special manner (ie. Law giving
pensions to widows of former Presidents
of the Philippines)
2) Kinds of Public Act or Statutes
a) General Law or statute, or one which
applies to the whole state and
operates throughout the state, alike
upon all on the people or all of a class
(Social Security Act)
b) Special Law one which applies to an
individual,
association
or
corporation. It relates to a particular
person or thigs of a class, either

particularized, by the express terms of

the act or separated by any method of
selection from the whole class to which
the law might, but for such limitations be
applicable.
c) Local Law- primarily directed only to a
specific spot, is confined in its operation
to the property and persons of a limited
portion of the territory of the state,
or part of its people, or a portion of the
property of its citizens.
3) Divisions and Kinds of General Law and
Statutes
3A.
Duration
1) Permanent: continuance of which is not
limited by time although it is not
expressly declared to be so until duly
altered or changed or repealed by
competent authority
2) Temporary: limited in duration at the
time of its enactment until its expiration
or unless earlier repelled
3B.
Date of Effectivity
1) Prospective: applies to such facts or
transactions and restricts its operation to
such facts and causes as shall arise after
its passage
2) Retroactive:
looks
backward
or
contemplates the past; one which is
made to effect acts or transactions
occurring before it came into effect, or
rights already accrued, and which
imparts to them characteristics, or
ascribes to them effects which were not
inherent
in
their
nature
in
the

contemplation of the law as it stood at

the time of their occurrence
3C.
Nature of Operation
1) Declaratory/Expository
-passed for removing a doubt or
ambiguity as to the state of the law, or to
correct a construction deemed by the
legislature to be erroneous. It either
declares what is, and has been the
maxim of the law on a given point, or
expounds the true meaning and intention
of a prior legislative act.
2) Curative
- undertakes to cure errors and
irregularities in judicial or administrative
proceedings, and which is designed to
give effect to contracts and other
transactions between private parties
which otherwise would fail of producing
their intended consequences by reasons
of some statutory disability or the failure
to
comply
with
some
technical
requirement.
3) Mandatory
-commands and requires that certain
action shall be taken by those to whom
the statute is addressed, without them
leaving any choice or discretion in the
matter, or when, in respect to action
taken under the statute, there must be
exact and literal compliance with its
terms, or else the act done will be
absolutely void
4) Directory

-directs the manner in which certain

action shall be taken or certain official
duties performed but disregard of it or
want of literal compliance with it, though
constituting an irregularity will not
absolutely vitiate the proceedings taken
under it
5) Permissive
-authorizes or permits certain action to
be taken by those to whom it is
addressed and to whom it concerns, at
their option or in their discretion, but
does not imperatively require it
6) Preceptive
-commands
certain
actions,
and
regulates the forms and acts which ought
to accompany them
7) Prohibitive
-one that forbids all actions which disturb
the public repose, and injury to the rights
of others, or crimes and misdemeanors,
or when it forbids certain acts in relation
to the transmission of states, or the
capacity of persons or other objects
8) Remedial
-supplies the defects and abridges
superfluities in the former law either by
enlarging or restraining such former law.
Such defects arise either from the
general imperfection of all human law,
from change of time and circumstances
from
the
mistakes
and
advised
determination of judges, or of from any
other cause or whatsoever.
9) Penal

-imposes the penalty for transgressing its

provisions
10)
Repealing
-abrogates existing statute
11)
Amendatory
-changes or modifies
originally enacted.

statute

as

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

Introduction
Reading
Reference to Committee
Discussion and Amendment
Vocation and passage determined by
the rules of the legislative body
2) Approval and Disapproval
a. Tacit Approval
b. Express Approval

3D.
Form
1) Affirmative
Statute:
generally
cumulative; one where existing right or
remedy is continued and a new one is
created
2) Negative Statute
3) Compiled/Revised: collection of the
statutes existing and in force in a given
state, all laws and parts of laws relating
to each subject matter being brought
together under 1 head, and the whole
arranged systematically in one book
either
under
an
alphabetical
arrangement or some other plan of
classification
4) Codified: reenactment of the whole
body of a positive law

Printing and Distribution of Bills

- No bill shall become a law unless it has
passed 3 readings on separated days
- Printed copies thereof in its final form have
been distributed to the members 3 days
before its passage
Except:
When the PM certifies to the necessity of its
immediate enactment to meet a public
calamity or emergency

3E.Origin or Source
1) Adopted: taken wholly or in part from
another state and enacted as a law of the
state adopting it
2) Reenacted: one passed by the same
legislative body, in the same terms, or in
substantially the same language, and for
the same purpose and object, as the
former statute

When a Bill Becomes a Law

1) Presented to the PM
2) Approve (sign)/Veto (return to sender
w/objections)
3) 30 days from receipt and no reply, deemed
approved

3F. Enactment of Statutes

1) Procedure in Enactment

Why?
1) To prevent hasty and improvident legislation
2) To compel the careful examination of
proposed laws
3) Afford the opportunity for that purpose

3G.
Language of Statute
3H.
Parts of Statute
1) # of the Act
2) Subject and Title: used as a guide to
ascertain the legislative will when the

language of the act does not clearly

express its purpose
Observe Art. VIII, Sec. 19 (1) One subject
expressed in the title
Why?
1. To prevent hodpodge or log-rolling
legislation;
2. To
prevent
surprise
upon
the
legislature
3. To fairly apprise the people of the
subjects
of
legislation
being
considered so that they may have the
opportunity of being heard thereon, if
they shall so desire
4. To guide the bench and the bar
***The legislature in passing a law is not required to
make the title thereof a complete index of its
contents.
It is sufficient that the title be comprehensive
enough to reasonably include the general object
which the statute seeks to effect without expressing
each and every end and means necessary for its
accomplishment; mere details need not be set forth.
The legislature is not required to make the title of
the act a complete index of its contents.
3) Preamble: introductory clause at the
beginning of a statute, following the title
and preceding the enacting clause,
setting forth the reasons for its
enactment and the object sought to be
accomplished
4) Enacting Clause
5) Body of the Statute: divided into
sections and articles
6) Date of Enactment

7) Other matters found in the statute

but not forming part thereof
a) Subtitles, Chapter, Article, section
headings
i. Not regarded as part of statute
and may be considered only for
purpose of interpretation and
construction
b) Marginal Notes
i. Not regarded as part of statute
and not generally available for
purposes of interpretation and
construction

OPERATIONS AND EFFECTS OF STATUTES

1) Territorial Extent of Operation: operation is
generally confined to territory of sovereign
enacting statute
2) Operation as to Government: government
not ordinarily bound by statute unless named
therein
3) Prospective and Retrospective: statutes are
generally prospective and not retroactive in
their operation
NOVA CONSTITUTIO FUTURIS FORMAN
IMPONERE DEBET NON PRAETERIS. A new
law ought to be prospective, not retrospective in
operation

2) Resolutions
- Enactments of the legislature employed
either to express sentiments or opinions, or
to carry out the internal affairs of the
legislative body, or to make temporary laws,
or to establish procedures for constitutional
amendments. Resolutions are generally less
formal and therefore are less authoritative
expressions of legislative purposes.
Kinds of Resolution
1) Simple Resolution
- Formalized motion passed by a majority of
single legislative chamber. It is usually used
to create special committees,
o to express recognition for meritorious
services,
o to extend sympathy on the death of a
member, and
o to express opinions to another
governmental body;
o establish rules governing internal
affairs
2) Concurrent Resolution
- Simple resolution but passed by both
chambers of the legislature. Same functions,
but it reflects the opinion of the entire
legislative body.

4) Time of Taking effect

3) Joint Resolution
- Very similar to statutes; also has to undergo
the same process as a bill towards its
enactment. It passes thru greater procedural
safeguards and delays, calculated to insure
the expression of a more sober judgment

3) Ordinance
- An act passed by a municipal council, in the
exercise of its law-making authority;
operates only in the territory of the
municipality in which it is enacted and can
have no force beyond it

CHAPTER III
CARDINAL RULES OF CONSTRUCTION
1. Ascertain the legislative intent in cases of
obscurity, ambiguity or other fault of
expression, and uncertainty in meaning of
statutes
2. Liberal or Strict Construction
a. Former law
b. Persons or rights which it deals
c. Letter or language of law
d. Purpose and objects of the statute
o
o
o

Statutes in derogation of common law

or common rights
Statutes prescribing the formalities of
wills
Naturalization laws in favor of govt

Determination of Meaning and Intention from the

Language Employed- VERBA LEGIS
Meaning of intention must be sought first
of all in the language of statute itself, for
it is presumed and means employed by
the legislature to express that will
correctly
If the language of the statute is clear and
free from ambiguity, and expresses a

single, definite, and sensible meaning, it

must be interpreted literally, as that
meaning is conclusively presumed to be
the meaning which the legislature
intended to convey
INDEX ANIMO SERMO- Speech is the
index of intention
A
VERBA
LEGIS
NO
EST
RECEDENDUM- From the words of the
law there should be no departure

HOC QUIDEM PERQUAM DURUM EST,

SED ITA LEX SCRIPTA EST- This is
exceedingly hard, but so the law is
written.

MALEDICTA
EXPOSITIO
QUAE
CORRUMPIT TEXTUM- It is a dangerous
construction which is against the express
words

BENIGNIUS LEGES INTERPRETANDAE

SUNT,
QUO
VOLUNTAS
EARUM
CONSERVETUR Laws are to be
construed liberally, so that their spirit
and reason may be preserved

PARTS OF STATUTES

Title: every bill passed shall embrace only

one subject which shall be expressed in the
title. This provisions contains dual limitations
upon the legislature:
The legislature is to refrain from
conglomeration, under one statute, of
heterogeneous subjects.
The title of the bill is to be couched in a
language
sufficient
to
notify
the

1
2

legislators and the public and those

concerned of the import of the single
subject thereof.
3
Purpose of one title-one subject rule:
a
To prevent hodge-podge or log-rolling
legislation
b
To prevent surprise or fraud upon
legislature, by means of provisions in
bills of which the title gave no
information,
and
which
might
therefore
be
overlooked
and
carelessly
and
unintentionally
adopted
c
To fairly apprise the people through
such
publication
of
legislative
proceedings as is usually made, of
the subjects of the legislation that are
being heard thereon
4
These requirements should be liberally
construed (People v. Buenviaje).
It
should not be given a technical
interpretation, nor narrowly construed as
to cripple or impede the power of
legislation (Tobias v. Abalos). (Cordero
vs. Cabatuando)
5
Title of the statute is used as a guide in
ascertaining legislative intent when the
language of the act does not clearly
express its purpose.
6
When there is doubt as to whether the
title sufficiently expresses the subject
matter of the statute, the question
should be resolved against the doubt and
in favor of the constitutionality of the
statute (Insular Lumber vs. Court of Tax
Appeals)
Note: There is sufficient compliance with the onetitle-subject requirement
a
if the title be comprehensive enough
to reasonably include the general

object which a statute seeks to effect,

without each and every end and
means necessary or convenient for
accomplishing the subject.
b
if all parts of the law are related and
germane to the subject matter
expressed in the title.
c
If the title indicates in broad or clear
terms, the nature, scope, and
consequences of the law and its
operations.
d
The tile should not be catalogue or
index of the bill (People v. Ferrer).
7
Titles ending with and for other
purposes expresses nothing as a
compliance
with
the
constitutional
requirement.
8
WHEN REQUIREMENT NOT APPLICABLE
It does not apply to laws in force existing at
the time the 1935 Constitution took effect (People v.
Valensoy), nor to municipal or city ordinances
because they do not partake of the nature of laws
passed by the legislature.
9

Effect pf insufficiency of title

A statue whose title does not conform
to the one title-subject or is not
related to its subject is null and void.
b
If subject matter of statute is not
sufficiently expressed in its title, only
the unexpressed subject matter is
void leaving the rest in force.
Enacting Clause: part of the statute written
immediately after the title thereof which
states the authority by which the act is
enacted
Preamble:
prefatory
statement
or
explanation or a finding of facts, reciting the
a

purpose, reason, or occasion for making the

law to which it is prefixed. Laws passed by
legislature seldom contain the preamble
because the statement embodying the
purpose, reason, etc is contained in the
explanatory note. Presidential decrees and
Executive Orders generally have preambles.
Purview or body of a statute: part which
tells what the law is all about.

Note: A complex and comprehensive piece of

legislation usually contains: a short title, a policy
section, definition section, administrative section,
sections prescribing standards or conduct, section
imposing sanctions for violation of its provisions,
transitory provision, separability clause, repealing
clause, and effectivity clause.
The constitutional requirement that a bill should
have only one subject matter which should be
expressed in its title is complied with where the
provisions thereof, no matter how diverse they may
be, are allied and germane to the subject, or
negatively stated, where the provisions are not
inconsistent with, but in furtherance of, the single
subject matter (People v. Carlos).
Separability Clause: part of a statute, which
states that if any provision of the act is declared
invalid, the remainder shall not be affected thereby.
Such clause is not controlling and the courts may, in
spite of it, invalidate the whole statute where what
is left, after the void part, is not complete and
workable.
II

Presidential Issuances: those which the

President issues in the exercise of his
ordinance power, which have the force and
effect of law. They include:
Administrative orders- acts of the
President which relate to the particular
aspects of governmental operations in
pursuance of his duties as administrative
head.
Proclamations- acts of the President fixing
a date or declaring a statute or condition of
public moment or interest, upon the
existence of which the operation of a specific
law or regulation is made to depend.
Memorandum
Ordersacts
of
the
President on matters of administrative detail
or of subordinate or temporary interest
which only concern a particular officer or
office of the government.
Memorandum Circulars- acts of the
President on matters relating to internal
administration which the President desires to
bring to the attention of all or some of the
departments, agencies, bureaus, or offices of
the
government,
for
information
or
compliance.
General or specific orders- acts and
commands of the President in his capacity as
Commander-in0Chief of the Armed Forces of
the Philippines.
Executive Orders: acts of the President
providing for rules of a general or permanent
character in the implementation or execution
of constitutional or statutory powers, which
do not have the force of statutes.

PRESIDENTIAL ISSUANCES, RULES AND

ORDINANCES

10