THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES vs QUE PO LAY

G.R. No. L-6791

29 March 1954
Montemayor, J.

PARTIES:
 Plaintiff-appellee: The Philippine People
 Defendant-appellant: Que Po Lay

FACTS:
1. Appellant was in possession of foreign exchange consisting of US Dollars, US checks and US money orders
amounting to $7000.
a. He failed to sell the amount to the Central Bank through its agents within one day following the
receipt of such foreign exchange as required by Circular No. 20.
b. The appeal is based on the claim that Circular No. 20 was not published in the Official Gazette prior
to the act or omission imputed to the appellant, and the said circular had no force and effect.
2. Defendant-appellant contended that Commonwealth Act No. 638 and Act 2930 both require said circular
to be published in the Official Gazette as an order/notice of general applicability.
a. Solicitor General said that these acts do not require publication in the Official Gazette of the said
circular for the implementation of a law in order to have force and effect.

ISSUES:
 Whether the Circular No. 20 should be published first to have the force and effect of the law.

RULING:
 YES
 Section 11 of the Revised Administrative Code provides that statutes passed by Congress shall, in the
absence of special provision, take effect at the beginning of the 15th day after the completion of the
publication in the Official Gazette.
o Art. 2 of the New Civil Code (RA 386) equally provides that laws shall take effect after 15 days
following the completion of their publication in the OG, unless otherwise provided.
o Circular No. 20 of the Central Bank is not a statute or law but being issued for the implementation
of the law authorizing its issuance, it has the force and effect of law according to settled
jurisprudence.
 As a rule, circulars and regulations which prescribes a penalty for its violation should be published before
becoming effective, on a general principle that before the public is bound by its contents, it must first be
published and the people should be officially and specifically informed of its contents and penalties.
 In the present case, Circular No. 20 of the Central Bank was issued in year 1949, it was not published until
November 1951 (3 months after the appellant’s conviction). The Circular did not have any legal effect and
bound no one until its publication in the OG or after November 1951.
o The appellant could not be held liable, for it was not binding at the time he failed to sell the foreign
exchange in his possession.

TOPICS:
1. Effectivity Date of an Ordinary Law
2. Publication Requirement