TANADA v TUVERA

146 SCRA 446

FACTS: The petitioner calls upon the court to subject all laws, presidential decrees, letters of
instructions, general orders, executive orders, and administrative orders being enacted to be published
first in the Official Gazette as well as a fifteen day period before said law can be made valid in
accordance to Article 2 of the Civil Code of the Philippines.

ISSUE: Whether or not the mandatory publication of the law in the Official Gazette is a requirement for
its effectivity.

HELD: For the people to have a reasonable amount of time to learn about certain laws or decrees being
enacted by their government, sufficient appropriation of time and publication is necessary. According to
Article 2 of the Civil Code, all laws must be given 15 days upon its publication in the Official Gazette for it
to be enacted. This is to give sufficient time for the people to learn of such laws as well as to respect
their right to be informed. The respondents however brought up the fact that the Official Gazette may
not be the most effective medium for the people to be educated of certain new laws given its erratic
publication dates as well as its limited number of readers, with lieu of more potent mediums of
instructions such as newspapers of general circulation because of its wide readership and regular dates
of printing. The court nevertheless rules that such periodicals are not what is required by the Civil Code
and such amendments are left to the legislative branch of the government. Having said this, the court
finds in favor of publishing all laws, presidential decrees, letters of instructions, general orders,
executive orders, and administrative orders with a 15 day leeway, or unless stated, for them to take into
effect.