CONSTITUTIONAL

LAW | TORRES | CASE DIGEST|

Ople Vs. Torres

G.R. No. 127685
July 23, 1998

Facts of the Case:

President Fidel V. Ramos issued Administrative Order No. 308 On December 12, 1996 that
provided for a national computerized identification system with the goal of providing convenient
way to transact business with basic service and social security providers and other government
instrumentalities. Petitioner and Senator Blas Ople filed a case seeking to declare the act
unconstitutional, claiming that A.O. No. 308 is not a mere administrative order but a law and
hence, beyond the power of the President to issue.

Issue: Is the issuance of the President of Administrative Order No. 308 unconstitutional
usurpation of the legislative powers of the Congress.

Ruling:
Yes. A.O. No. 308 involves a subject that is not appropriate to be covered by an
administrative order. Legislative power is "the authority, under the Constitution, to make laws,
and to alter and repeal them." The Constitution, as the will of the people in their original,
sovereign and unlimited capacity, has vested this power in the Congress of the Philippines.
While Congress is vested with the power to enact laws, the President executes the laws. It
establishes for the first time a National Computerized Identification Reference System.
Moreover, even assuming arguendo that A.O. No. 308 need not be the subject of a law, still it
cannot pass constitutional muster as an administrative legislation because facially, it violates the
right to privacy. The act of promulgating AO no. 308 is an act of legislation rather than
enforcement of a law, thus, should be struck down as unconstitutional exercise of legislative
power.