Annotation

LIMITS IN THE POWER OF JUDICIAL REVIEW

By: JORGE R. COQUIA

Introduction:

The Supreme Court has been called upon to review the constitutional validity of a statute which
involves a legislative policy on economy.

Article VIII, Section 1 of the Philippine Constitution:

“The Judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be
established by law. Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual
controversies involving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine
whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction
on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the government.”

Nature of the Petition:

Congressman Enrique Garcia sought to declare the new oil deregulation law unconstitutional on the
ground that it violated Article XII of the Constitution. The petitioner specifically objected to Section
19 of RA no. 8479 which, in essence, prescribed the period for removal of price control on gasoline
and other finished petroleum products and set the time for the full deregulation of the local
downstream oil industry. The assailed provision reads:

“Sec. 19 Start of Full Deregulation – Full deregulation of the Industry shall start five months following
the effectivity of this Act: Provided, however, that when the public interest so requires, the
President may accelerate the start of full deregulation upon recommendation of the DOE and DOF
when the prices of crude oil and petroleum products in the world market are declining and the value
of the peso in relation to the US dollar is stable, taking into account relevant trends and prospects:
Provided further, That the foregoing provision notwithstanding, the five month Transition Phase
shall continue to apply to LPG, regular gasoline and kerosene as socially-sensitive petroleum
products and said petroleum products shall be covered by the automatic pricing mechanism during
the said period.

Upon the implementation of full deregulation as provided herein, the Transition Phase I deemed
terminated and the following laws are repealed:

a. Republic Act No. 6173, as amended;

b. Section 5 of Executive Order No.172, as amended;
c. Letter of Instruction No. 1431, dated October 15, 1984;
d. Letter of Instruction No. 1441, dated November 20, 1984, as amended;
e. Letter of Instruction No. 1460, dated May 9, 1985;
f. Presidential Decree No. 1889; and,
g. Presidential Decree No. 1956, as amended by Executive Order No. 137

Provided, however, That in case full deregulation is started by the President in the exercise of the
authority provided in this Section, the foregoing laws shall continue to be in force and effect with
respect to LPG, regular gasoline and kerosene for the rest of the five month period.
The Power of Judicial Review in General

Judicial review is the power of the courts to test the validity of executive and legislative acts for their
conformity with the Constitution. In asking the Court to declare Section 19 of RA No. 8479 as
unconstitutional for contravening Article XII of the Constitution, petitioner Garcia invokes the exercise
by this Court of its power of judicial review, which power is expressly recognized under Section 4(2),
Article VIII of the Constitution. The power of judicial review is the power of the courts to test the
validity of executive and legislative acts for their conformity with the Constitution. Through such
power, the judiciary enforces and upholds the supremacy of the Constitution.

Requisites of Judicial Review

When questions of constitutional significance are raised, the Court can exercise its power of judicial
review only if the following requisites are complied with, namely: (1) the existence of an actual and
appropriate case; (2) a personal and substantial interest of the party raising the constitutional
question; (3) the exercise of judicial review is pleaded at the earliest opportunity; and (4) the
constitutional question is the lis mota of the case. (IBP v. Zamora, 338 SCRA 81, 2000)

The Supreme Court Power of Judicial Review

The court’s power of judicial review is conferred on the judicial branch of the government in Section
1, Article VIII of our present 1987 Constitution: Section 1. The Judicial power shall be vested in one
Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be established by law. Judicial power includes the
duty of the courts of justice to settle actual controversies involving rights which are legally
demandable and enforceable, and to determine whether or not there has been a grave abuse of
discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of
the government. Such power of judicial review was early on exhaustively expounded upon by Justice
Jose P. Laurel in the definitive 1936 case of Angara v. Electoral Commission, after the effectivity of
the 1935 Constitution whose provisions, unlike the present Constitution, did not contain the present
provision in Article VIII