Based on notes by Ruben Agpalo 6th Edition Statutory Construction 1.

Legislation
Statutory construction
PHILIPPINE LEGAL SYSTEM: Present structure of the government,
and how this affects interpretation and construction of statutes
Present government is a presidential form with which the structure
upholds the principle of separation of powers and the system of
checks and balances:
1. Executive power being vested in the President of the
Philippines; invokes the wisdom and propriety
2. Legislative power in the Congress of the Philippines
consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives
3. Judicial power in one SC and in such lower courts as may
be stablished by law.
BASIC CONCEPTS
LAWS - The whole body or system of law. In jural and concreate
sense, law means a rule of conduct formulated and made
obligatory by legitimate power of the state
Includes statutes enacted by the legislature, presidential decrees
and executive orders issued by the President in the exercise of his
ordinance, rulings of the SC construing the law, rules and
regulations promulgated by administrative or executive officers.
2. Precedent
- The decisions or principles enunciated by a court of
competent jurisdiction on question of law do not
only serve as guides but also as authority to be
followed by all other courts or equal or inferior
jurisdiction in all cases involving the same question
until the same is overruled or reverse by a
supervisor of court.
- Judicial decision applying or interpreting the laws or
the Constitution shall form part of the legal system
of the Philippines (Civil Code)
3. Custom
- Customs have the force of law only when they are
acknowledged and approved by society through
long and uninterrupted usage.
Requisites before the court considers custom:
(a) A custom must be proved as a fact according to the
rules of evidence (Art. 12 NCC)
(b) The custom must not be contrary to the law (Art. 11,
NCC)
(c) There must be a number of repeated acts and these
repeated acts must have been uniformly performed
(d) There must be a judicial intention to make a rule of
social conduct
(e) A custom must be acknowledged and approved by
society, through long and uninterrupted usage.

In its broadest sense, law is defined as any rule of action or norm of
conduct applicable to all kinds of action and to all objects of
creation. This includes all laws – whether they refer to state law,
physical law, divine law and others.
In a strict legal sense, law is defined as a rule of conduct, just and
obligatory, laid down by legitimate authority for common
observance and benefit.
Elements of Law:
1. It is a rule of conduct
- Laws serve as guides of an individual in relation to
his fellowmen and to his community.
2. Laws must be just
- Laws, as guides for human conduct, should run as
golden threads through society; to the end that law
may approach its supreme ideal which is the sway
and dominance of justice.
3. It must be obligatory
- It laws are not enforced, the purpose for which they
are intended will not be served.
4. Laws must be prescribed by legitimate authority
- Sec. 1 Art. II 1987 Constitution “sovereignty resides
in the people and all government authority
emanates from them.”
5. Laws must be ordained for the common good benefit
- Salus populi est suprema lex – the welfare of the
people is the supreme law.
4. Court Decision
- Judicial decisions which apply or interpret the
Constitution and the laws are part of the legal
system in the Philippines but they are not laws.
- Although judicial decisions are not laws, they are
evidence of the meaning and interpretations of the
laws.
- In Ph, we adhere to the doctrine of Stare decisis
which means that once a case has been decided one
way, then another case involving exactly the same
question or point of law should be decided in the
same manner – but if found erroneous, they should
be abandoned.
STATUTES
An act of the legislature as an organized body, expressed in the
form and passed according to the procedure, required to constitute
it as part of the law of the land
• Enacted and passed by Philippine Commission, the
Philippine Legislature, Batasang Pambansa and Congress
of the Philippines

GENERAL LAW SPECIAL LAW LOCAL LAW

Applies to the Relates to Operation is
whole state & particular persons confined to a
operates or things of a class specific place or
throughout the or particular locality (municipal
state alike upon all community, ordinance)
the people or all of individual or thing
a class

4 Sources of law:
1 | STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION NOTES based from the book of Suarez and Agpalo
 • The judiciary has the delicate task of ascertaining the
significance of a constitutional or statutory provision, an
STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION executive order, a procedural or a municipal ordinance.

Purpose of Interpretation and Construction

STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION
The act of process of 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, among
others, by reason of the fact that the given case is not explicitly
provided in the law.
CONSTRUCTION
The art or process of discovering and expounding the meaning and
intention of the authors of the law, where that intention is
rendered doubtful b reason of the ambiguity in its language or the
fact that the given case is not explicitly provided for in the law
• Ascertain and give effect to the legislative intent
When it is necessary to interpret and construct?
1. When the language of the statute is ambiguous, doubtful,
or obscure, when taken in relation to a set of rules
2. When reasonable minds disagree as to the meaning of
the language used in the statute
Nature of the Rules of Statutory Construction
• When the words of a statute are clear, plain and free
from ambiguity, it must be given its literal meaning and
applied without attempted interpretation.

General Rules of Construction AMBIGUITY – doubtfulness, doubleness of meaning, indistinctness

• Tools used to ascertain legislative intent or uncertainty of meaning of an expression used in a written
• In enacting a statute, the legislature is presumed to know instrument.
the rules of the statutory construction
• A which is ambiguous and deficient is a bad law-bad law APPLY THE LAW INTERPRET THE Construct the
makes cases hard LAW Law
When the law When there is When the intent
CONSTRUCTION INTERPRETATION speaks in clear and ambiguity in the of the
Makes use of extrinsic aids or Makes use of intrinsic aids or categorical language of the legislature
those found outside of the those found in the statute language statute, ascertain cannot be
written language of the law itself legislative intent by ascertained by
Purpose: ascertain & give effect to the legislation intent. making of intrinsic merely making
aids or found in the use of intrinsic
Purpose or object of construction and interpretation law itself aids, or those
CARDINAL RULE: All laws is to ascertain and give effect to the intent found outside
of the law or to the legislative intent the language of
law.
All rules of construction or interpretation have for their sole object Purpose: ascertain & give effect to the legislation intent.
the ascertainment of the true intent of the legislature. When the language under consideration is plain, it is neither
necessary nor permissible to resort to extrinsic aids
The object of all judicial interpretation of a statute is to When the law is clear and unambiguous, the court is left with
• Determine legislative intent no alternative but to apply the same according to its clear
• What intention is conveyed, either expressly or impliedly language.
• By the language used When the law speaks in clear and categorical language, there is
• Will of the law-making body no need, the absence of legislative intent to the contrary, for
any interpretation
• The end that it may be enforced.

3 Cardinal rules when the wordings of the Constitution are subject
to interpretation:
1. Verba Legis – whenever possible, the words used in the
Constitution must be given their ordinary meaning except
where technical terms are employed.
2. Ratio Legis Est Anima – in case of ambiguity, the words of
the Constitution should be interpreted in accordance
with the intent of its framers.
3. Ut Magis Valeat Quam Pereat – the Constitution should
be interpreted as a whole, but if the plain meaning of the
word is not found to be clear, resort to other aids is
available.
Who interprets the law?
• ANYONE can interpret the law (Lawyers, policemen,
arbiters, admin boards and agencies, gov’t, private
executives BUT their interpretation doesn’t necessarily
conclusive nor can they bind the courts.
• Where cases are appealed to the SC where there is an
abuse of discretion and authority or when there is a
violation of due process or denial of substantial justice or
erroneous interpretation of the law.
Legislative Power – the authority of Congress to make laws and to
alter or repeal them.
• The authority, under the Constitution, to make laws, and
to alter and repeal them.
• Power to enact laws, executive power; to execute the
laws; judicial, to interpret and apply the laws
• Grant of the legislative power to Congress is broad,
general and comprehensive.
• Possesses plenary power for all purposes of civil
government.
• Embraces all subjects and extends to matters of general
concern or common interest
• Legislative power is vested in the Congress of the
Philippines, consisting of a Senate and a House of
Representatives, not in particular chamber.
2 kinds of legislative powers:
1. Original Legislative Power- power belonging to the
sovereign people and this is supreme
2. Derivative Legislative Power – delegated by the sovereign
people to the legislative bodies and it is subordinate to
the original power of the people.

2 | STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION NOTES based from the book of Suarez and Agpalo
Legislative Intent – the essence of the law composing the meaning
and purpose of the law
• The spirit which gives life to legislative enactment
• Primary source of legislative intent is the statute itself-
has to be discovered from the four corners of the law
Legislative Purpose – reason why a particular statute was enacted;
the objective why the law was created
Legislative Meaning – what the law, by its language means; the
meaning determined by the language of the law
3 ways a law is passed:
1. Approval and signing of the president
2. When there’s no communication on the veto of President
for 30 days
3. Vetoed bill is repassed by the Congress by 2/3 of its
member, from houses voting separately
1st reading
Reading of the number and the title of the bill, then referral to the
appropriate committee for study and recommendation. Conduct of
public hearing by the Committee and submits report and
recommendation
2nd Hearing
• The bill shall be read in full with the amendments
proposed by the committee
• Copies are distributed and such reading is dispensed with
• The bill is subject to debates, pertinent motions, and
amendment
• The amendments shall have acted upon, the bill be voted.
• After the approval of the bill, the 2 nd reading shall be
included in the calendar of bills for 3rd reading
3rd Reading
• A bill is approved by either House after it has gone 3
readings (art. 6 sec. 26)
• The bill is passed by the voting of the separate Houses
• Conference committee reports of which the bill is
approved on 3rd reading by one House is transmitted to
the other House for concurrence, which will follow
substantially the same route as bill originally filed with it.
• It should be approved in the Congress and then
transmitted to the Senate for approval
• Conference committee is the mechanism for composing
differences between the Senate and the House in the
passage of a bill into law.
• 3 versions of a bill or revenue bill originating from the
lower House: (1) From the lower house; (2) Senate; (3)
conference committee
• Bill approved by the Houses shall be transmitted to the
President for appropriate action
• Bill is then authenticated by the Speaker and the Senate
President of the printed copy of the approved bill.
• President’s approval or veto
Enrolled Bill
Bill as passed by Congress, authenticated by the House Speaker and
Senate President and approved by the President
RULE: The text of the act as passed and approved is deemed
importing absolute verity and is binding on the courts. If there has
been any mistake in the printing of the bill before it was certified,
the remedy is by amendment by enacting a curative legislation and
not a judicial decree.
PRESUMPTION: It carries on its face a solemn assurance by the
legislative and executive departments of the government that it
was passed by the assembly. Hence, the respect due to co-equal
3 | STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION NOTES based from the book of Suarez and Agpalo
and independent departments requires the judiciary to act upon
that assurance and to accept all bills duly authenticated.
JUDICIAL POWER
What is the traditional concept of judicial power?
Refers only to the authority to settle justiciable controversies or
disputes involving rights that are enforceable and demandable
before the court of justice or the redress of wrongs for the violation
of such rights.
What is the new definition of judicial power?
To determine WON there has been a grave abuse of discretion
among to lack or excess of jurisdiction; on any part of any branch
or instrumentality of the Government – serving as its expanded
jurisdiction and authority
POWER TO CONSTRUE AS A JUDICIAL FUNCTION
>construction is a judicial function
The duty & power to interpret or construe a statute or the
Constitution belong to the judiciary.
• The court has the final word as to what the law means
• Construes or applies the law as it decides concrete and
controverted cases based on the facts and the law
involved.
• Does not give hypothetical cases or in cases which have
become as a rule, moot and academic.
• The legislature has no power to overrule the
interpretation or construction of a statute or the
Constitution by the SC
• Judicial ruling of the high tribunal construing a law forms
part of the law as of the date of its enactment, it cannot
give retroactive effect if to do so will impair vested rights
– “lex prospicit, non respicit” the law looks forward not
barckwards
• Courts may not enlarge the scope and restrict statutes
• Courts not be influenced by questions of wisdom, justice
or expediency of legislation-it is not within their province
to supervise legislation and keep it within the bounds of
propriety and common sense.
MPH v. GSIS
Issue: Does MHC fall under the term “national patrimony”? is Sec.
10(2) of Art. XII self-executing?
HELD: Term patrimony pertains to heritage and in the Constitution,
it refers not only to natural resources but also to the cultural
heritage of the Filipinos. Sec. 10(2) Art. XII is a mandatory, positive
command which is complete in itself ad which needs no further
guidelines or implementing laws or rules for its enforcement.
Rules that govern the court or the judicial arm of the government:
1. When the law is clear, the court’s duty is to apply it, not
to interpret it
2. It is the duty of the judge to apply the law without fear or
favor
3. When construction or interpretation is necessary, the
courts should interpret the law according to the meaning
the legislature intended it to give.
4. If there are 2 possible interpretations of a law, that which
will achieve the ends desired by Congress should be
adopted
5. Laws of pleading, practice and procedure are liberally
construed in order to promote their object and to assist
the parties in obtaining just, speedy and inexpensive
determination of every action and proceedings
6. A judge cannot decline to render judgment by reason of
the silence, obscurity or insufficiency of the laws. He must
 decide the case assigned to him WON he knows what law
shall be applied.
In case of silence, obscurity or insufficiency of the laws, a
judge may still be guided by the following:
a) Customs which are not contrary to law,
public order or public policy
b) Court decisions, foreign or local, in similar
cases
c) Legal opinions of qualified writers and
professors
d) General principles of justice and equity
e) Rules of statutory construction
Nullum poena sine lege
In criminal cases, it is an established rule that there is no crime
when there is no law punishing it – for such, judge must dismiss the
case.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
Are the powers of the President limited only to those that are
expressly enumerated in the Constitution?
No. The President has the residual power to protect the general
welfare of the people. It is founded on the duty of the President as
steward of the people.
What is the so-called residual power of the President?
Justice Cortes: It is a power borne by the President’s duty to
preserve and defend the Constitution. It is the power implicit in the
President’s duty to take care that the laws are faithfully executed.
What is the executive power of the President?
It is the power to enforce and administer the laws. The President
shall ensure that laws are faithfully executed (Sec. 17, Art. VII).
Is the President still required to determine the validity of a law?
No. This should be properly resolved by the judicial department of
government. Hence, the President has a duty to execute regardless
of his doubts on its validity. Until and unless a law is declared
unconstitutional, it is not unlawful for the President to perform his
duty of ensuring that laws are faithfully executed.
STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION v. JUDICIAL LEGISLATION
a. Principle of Separation of Powers/Overlap of gov’t functions
i. Rationale
Each department is given certain powers by which each
may restrain the others from executing their
Constitutional Authority.
ii. Checks and Balances
Provides an equilibrium of governmental powers
Actual examples:
1. The laws emanate from the legislature
- Legislature enacts laws but these have to be presented to
the executive department for its approval. The latter may
veto or disapprove the acts of the legislative if it is in its
judgment are not in conformity with the Constitution or
if they will cause hardship to the people.
The judicial department has no role yet on #1. It is only called upon
to interfere and to exercise its authority when an action is brought
to it for decision, and only upon reaching this stage when courts
should apply, among others, these basic rules:
a) When the law is clear, the court’s duty is to apply it not
to interpret it
4 | STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION NOTES based from the book of Suarez and Agpalo
b) In applying the law, the court should discover the real
intent and the purpose of the legislature. If that intent
and purpose can be discovered within the law, it is the
duty of the court to carry out that intention. If that intent
and purpose cannot be found within the law, the court
should resort to extrinsic aids.
c) When all other rules of statutory construction fail, it is
presumed that the lawmaking body intended, right and
justice to prevail.
2. The executive department may modify or set aside the
judgment of the court
- The executive department, through the pardoning
power, may also modify or set aside the judgment of the
courts.
- Executive department is not in any way interpreting or
constructing the law in its favor. It is a plain exercise of
pardoning power, which is expressly granted by the
Constitution to the President.
3. The legislative department may amend or revoke the
decisions of the court
- Can do so when in the decisions of the court, in
application to its judgment, the interpretation given to a
law by the courts is not in harmony with the general
policy of the State.
- It may do this by enacting a new law or by amending the
old law, thereby attaining an interpretation that will wipe
out the decisions of the judiciary department.
- The legislature is not interpreting or constructing the law
but attains the interpretation it desires by enacting a new
law or by amending the old law.
4. Status of SC Rulings
i. Part of the law of the land
• Judicial decisions applying or interpreting the laws or
the Constitution shall form of the legal system of the
Phil.
• Statutory Fiat – rulings of the court of last resort
applying or interpreting a statute become part of the
statute itself
• Legis interpretato legis vim obtinet – maxims that
means that the authoritative interpretation of the SC
of a statute requires the force of law by becoming a
part thereof as of the date of its enactment, since the
court’s interpretation merely establishes the
contemporaneous legislative intent that the statue
thus construed intends to effectuate.
ii. Principle Comparison: Stare Decisis v. Ratio Decidendi
• Stare decisis et non quieta novere (p.202)
- Expressed in Art. 8 of Civil Code
- Principle which means the SC has once laid down a
principle of law as applicable to a certain state of
facts, it will adhere to that principle and apply it to
all future cases where the facts are substantially the
same.
- Assures certainty and stability in the legal system
- What has been settled is not to be disturbed
• Ratio decidendi
- Rationale for the decision
- The factual point or chain of reasoning in a case
that drives the final judgment
- When considering earlier cases as precedent,
courts often ask parties to be very clear about
 how they interpret the main guiding principle of
ration decidendi of the earlier case.
iii. Principle of Prospectivity
- SC decisions form part of the law of the land, they
are however, subject to Art. 4 of Civil Code that
provides “laws shall have no retroactive effect
unless the contrary is provided” – lex prospicit, non
respicit (the law looks forward not backwards)
- A sound canon of statutory construction is that a
statute operates prospectively
- Lex de future, judex de praeterito – the law
provides for the future, the judge for the past
- Nova constitution futuris formam imponere debet
non praeteritisn- a new statute should affect the
future, not the past.
- Applies to statutes, administrative rulings and
circulars and judicial decisions.
Statutes given prospective effect
PENAL STATUTES or penal laws
• Penal laws or those laws which define offenses and
prescribes penalties for their violation operate prospectively.
• Art. 21 RPC “no felony SHALL be punishable by any penalty
not prescribed by law prior to its commission”.
• Based on the legal maxim nullum crimen sine poena, nulla
poena sine legis – no crime without a penalty and there’s no
penalty without a law.
5. What is Judicial Legislation?
JUDICIAL LEGISLATION
There is no such thing as judicial legislation. The judiciary can only
interpret or apply the law and the legislature to enact laws.
_________________________________________________
Transcript from session 1:
Can judiciary look into the executive?
Courts have to wait first for any petitions or cases be filed since
courts cannot initiate it first
Checks and Balance
When Congress passes a law, how do Congress enact a law?
Art. 6 Sec. 26: (1) Every bill passed by the Congress shall embrace
only one subject which shall be expressed in the title thereof.
Although Pres. Appoints them, this appointment must 1 st e
approved by the Commission of Appointments then to Legislative
branch to see if any of the appointed is qualified for the position
Law making belongs only to the Congress, can President tell or
mandate the Congress what laws to make? Or can the President
propose to Congress what to law to make?
No. It can only be introduced only by a member of Congress
Yes-if during SONA, if the President attends, then he can only
propose but never mandate since law making power is vested to
Congress.
Can the President modify the court decisions on amendments of
the Constitution?
No. It is not allowed as stated in Constitution
A convict sentenced to reclusion perpetua to pardon who has been
sentenced – accused convicted by Court
It is only the President who can exercise the power to grant
pardon/clemency and not modify the decisions of the Court
Can legislative department amend or revoke the decisions of the
court? Or what can they do if it turns out if the SC makes a mistake
in their decision?
No, but the Legislative department will enact a law in effect
correcting the interpretation of the SC – e.g. imposing the
wordings/new enactment so that the intent of legislative
department be seen.
Does judiciary have the power to make a law?
No. It is not given on Art. VIII but their decisions form part of the
law. They are only considered interpretations of the law and they
can only construe or interpret the law.
There is no judicial legislation
Applying the stare decisis then there’s an erroneous decision,
would you still apply the principle? Would they still the erroneous
decision?
No. They are not bound by it; abandon it and decide on it.
Obiter dictum – dissenting opinion (don’t cite separate opinions)
____________________________________________________

When can Pres. Duterte enter into treaties?

He can enter on his own but this has to be submitted to the
Congress for voting (2/3)

On pulling out the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) by Duterte

The Senate cannot be required to vote for it since it is not a treaty-
but an agreement

When can Pres. Duterte declare a martial law?

Conditions must be present on:
1. Invasion or rebellion
2. When public safety requires it

If there is rebellion but public safety is not at risk

President cannot declare martial law

What shall the President do after the martial law?

President must submit a report to Congress to revoke or extend it.

When would judiciary ask?

If a case is filed questioning the legal basis (Locus standi)/reason
behind the declaration of martial law. If there’s complaint then the
judiciary can check it.

Justices of the SC are appointed by the President

5 | STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION NOTES based from the book of Suarez and Agpalo

AIDS IN INTERPRETATION AND CONSTRUCTION
In determining the intention of the legislature, the courts may use
any of the following:
1. INTRINSIC AIDS – Elements found in the law itself
2. EXTRINSIC AIDS – Facts or matters not found in the law
3. PRESUMPTIONS – Based on logic or established provision
of law
ESTABLISHED PRACTICE
Resort FIRST to INTRINSIC AIDS before resolving to extrinsic aids
and before indulging in presumptions.
What are INTRINSIC AIDS?
It can any of the following:
1. Title
- Which expresses the subject matter of the law.
- Can help in the construction of statutes but is NOT
controlling and not entitled to much weight.
2. Preamble
- Part of the statute following the title and preceding the
enacting clause which states the reasons or the
objectives of the enactment.
- It cannot enlarge or confer powers, or cure inherent
defects in the statute.
- Can be inquired for the intent and spirit of a statute
3. Words, phrases and sentences
- The intention of the legislature must primarily be
determined from the language of the statute and such
language consists of the words, phrases and sentences
used therein.
- The meaning of the law should, however, be taken from
the general consideration of the act as a whole and not
form any single part, portion or section or from isolated
words and phrases, clauses or sentences used.
4. Context
- Every part of the statute must be considered together
with the other parts, and kept subservient to the
general intent of the whole enactment.
- A statute should be interpreted in harmony with the
Constitution
5. Punctuation
- It is an aid of low degree in interpreting the language of
a statute and can never control against the intelligible
meaning of the written word.
- If the punctuation of the statute gives it a meaning that
is reasonable and in apparent accord with the
legislature will, it may be used as an additional
argument for adopting the literal meaning of the words
this punctuate.
6. Headings and marginal notes
- If the meaning of the statute is clear or if the text of the
statute is clear, they will prevail as against the headings,
especially if the headings have been prepared by
compliers and not by the legislature.
7. Legislative definition
- If the legislature has defined the words used in the
statute and has declared the construction to be placed
thereon, such definition or construction should be
followed by the courts. The rules are as follows:
(a) If a law provides that in case of doubt it should be
construed or interpreted in a certain manner, the courts
should follow such instruction;
6 | STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION NOTES based from the book of Suarez and Agpalo
(b) In case of conflict between the interpretation clauses and
the legislative meaning, as revealed by the statute
considered in its totality, the latter shall prevail;
(c) A term is used throughout the statute in the same sense
in which it is first defined;
(d) Legislative definition of similar terms in other statute may
be resorted to except where a particular law expressly
declares that its definition therein is limited in application
to the statute in which they appear.
8. Interpretation clauses
Principle that once the policy or purpose of the law has been
ascertained, effect should be given to it by the judiciary. From this,
Court shall not deviate from such.
EXTRINSIC AIDS
What are EXTRINSIC AIDS?
Extrinsic aids can be resorted to only after the intrinsic aids have
been used and exhausted.
They can be any of the following:
1. Contemporaneous circumstances
2. Policy
3. Legislative History of the Statute
4. Contemporaneous and practical construction
5. Executive Construction
6. Legislative Construction
7. Judicial Construction
8. Construction by the bar and legal commentators
1. Contemporaneous circumstances
- Are the conditions existing at the time the law was enacted
such as of the following:
(a) History of the times and conditions existing at the time
the law was enacted
(b) Previous state of the law
(c) The evils sought to be remedied or corrected by the law
(d) The customs usages of the people
- The one interpreting the law should place himself in the
position and circumstances of those who used the words in
question and be able to feel the atmosphere, the conditions,
and the reasons why the law was enacted.
2. Policy
- The general policy of the law or the settled policy of the State
may enlighten the interpreter of the law as to the intention
of the legislature in enacting the same.
3. Legislative History of the Statute
- May be found in reports of legislative committees, in the
transcript of stenographic notes taken during a hearing,
legislative investigation, or legislative debates.
Q: Are personal opinions of some legislators appropriate aids of
construction?
No. However, if there is unanimity among the supporters and
oppositors to a bill with respect to the objective sought to be
accomplished, the debates may then be used as evidence of the
purpose of the act.
4. Contemporaneous and Practical Construction
- Those who lived at or near the time when the law was passed
were more acquainted of the conditions and the reasons why
the law was enacted.
- Their understanding and application of the law, especially if
the same has been continued and acquiesced by the judicial
 tribunals and the legal profession, deserved to be considered
by the courts.
5. Executive Construction
- The construction given by the executive department deserves
great weight and should be respected if said construction has
been formed and observed for a long period of time.
The rules to remember are the following:
(a) Congress is deemed to have been aware of the
contemporaneous and practical construction made by
the officers charged with the administration and
enforcement of the law;
(b) The courts should respect that contemporaneous
construction except if it is clearly erroneous;
(c) Executive construction has more weight if it is rendered
by the Chief Legal Adviser of the government who can
issue opinions to assist various departments of the
government charged with the duty to administer the
law;
(d) The opinion, however of the Chief Legal Adviser is
subservient to the ruling of the judiciary, which is in
charge of applying and interpreting laws.
6. Legislative Construction
- Entitled to consideration and great weight but it cannot
control as against the court’s prerogative to decide on what
is right or wrong interpretation.
7. Judicial Construction
- It is presumed that the legislature was acquainted with and
had in mind the judicial construction of former statutes on
the subject
- It is also presumed that the statute was enacted in the light
of the prejudicial construction that the prior enactment had
received.
- With respect to a statute adopted from another state, it is
presumed that it was adopted with the construction placed
upon it by the courts of the State.
Q: Should this construction be followed?
It should only be followed only if it is reasonable, in harmony
with justice and public policy and consistent with the local
law.
8. Construction by the Bar and Legal Commentators
- It is presumed that the meaning publicly given in a statute by
the members of the legal profession is a true one and
regarded as one that should not be lightly changed.
- The opinion and commentaries of text writers and legal
commentators, whether they are Filipinos or foreigners, may
also be consulted at, as in fact, they are oftentimes cited or
made as references in court decisions.
7 | STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION NOTES based from the book of Suarez and Agpalo
SUBJECTS OF CONSTRUCTION
Most common subjects of construction and interpretation are the
constitution and statutes which include ordinances. But we may
also add resolutions, executive orders and department circulars.
SUBJECTS OF CONSTRUCTION
a. The Constitution
b. Statutes
c. Presidential Issuances, Rules and Ordinances
The Constitution
• The fundamental law which sets up a form of government
and defines and delimits the powers thereof and those of
its officers, reserving to the people themselves plenary
sovereignty
• Defined also as a fundamental law or basis of
government, established by the people in their sovereign
capacity, to promote their happiness and to secure their
rights, property, independence and common welfare.
• A written charter enacted and adopted by the people by
which a government for them is established and by which
the people give organic and corporate form to those ideal
things, the state, for all the time to come.
• A system of fundamental laws for the governance and
administration of a nation.
• Must be construed in its entirety as one, single
document.
• Generally worded for it to be flexible. No technical words
which have “well-understood meaning”
PRIMARY PURPOSE:
• To ascertain the intent or purpose of the framers as
expressed in the language of the fundamental law, and
assure its realization.
FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF CONSTITUTIONAL CONSTRUCTION:
• Give effect to the intent of the framers of the organic law
and of the people adopting it
• The interpretation of the Constitution should be done
with a view to realizing this fundamental objective.
How the Constitution should be construed:
1. Plain meaning
2. Intent of the framers
3. Interpretation as a whole
4. Cases
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. LITERAL MEANING OR PLAIN-MEANING RULE
Maxim: Verba legis (p.131)
• If a statute is clear, plain and free from ambiguity, it must
be given its literal meaning and applied without attempted
interpretation.
• Expressed in the maxim index animi sermo or speech is the
index of intention
Rule: Rests on the valid presumption that the words employed by
the legislature in a statute correctly express its intent or will and
preclude the court from construing it differently.
The legislature is presumed to know the:
✓ Meaning of the words
✓ To have used the words advisedly
✓ To have expressed its intent by the use of such words as
are found in the statute

Verba legis non est recedendum
• From the words of a statute of a statute there should be no
departure
Elementary rule in statutory construction:
• Where the law is clear and unambiguous, it must be taken
to mean exactly what it says and the court has no choice
but to see to it that its mandate is obeyed.
• Where the law is clear and free from doubt or ambiguity,
there is no room for construction or interpretation.
• Absoluta sententia expositore non indiget
- When the language of the law is clear, no explanation
of it is required.
Fundamental rule:
• The legislative intent must be determined from the
language of the statute itself must be adhered to even
though the court is convinced by extraneous circumstances
that the legislature intended to enact something very
different from that which it did enact.
• To depart from the meaning expressed by the words is to
alter the statute, to legislate and not to interpret.
• Maledicta est expositio quae corrumpit textum
- It is dangerous construction which is against the text.
• Dura lex sed lex
- The law may be harsh, but it is still the law
• Hoc quidem perquam durum est, sed ita lex scripta est
- It is exceedingly written hard but so the law is written
- The principle should be applied regardless of whether
it is unwise, harsh or hard.
If the law is clear and free from doubt, it is
✓ Sworn to duty of the court to apply it without fear or favor
✓ To follow its mandate
✓ Not to tamper with it
When to reject a literal application/interpretation of a statute:
✓ If it will operate unjustly
✓ Lead to absurd results
✓ Contradict the evident meaning of the statute taken as a
whole
Statutes should receive a sensible construction, such as will give
effect to the legislative intention and so as to avoid an unjust or an
absurd conclusion.
• When a literal adherence to the language of a statute
would produce absurd result unless the appropriate word
or words are written or omitted therein, the court has the
power to supply or omit the words from a statute in order
to prevent an absurd result.
2. INTENT OF THE FRAMERS
Maxim: Mens Legislatoris
• Intent of the legislators
• Expressed in the maxim index animi sermo or speech is
the index of intention
3. INTERPRETATION AS A WHOLE
Maxim: Interpretatio fienda es tut res magis valeat quam pereat
- A law should be interpreted with a view to upholding rather
than destroying it
- One portion of a statute should not be construed to destroy
the other.
• The whole and every part of a statute should be construed
together
8 | STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION NOTES based from the book of Suarez and Agpalo
• Court: the law must be considered as a whole, just as it is
necessary to consider a sentence in its entirely in order to
grasp its true meaning.
• A statute must be so construed as to harmonize and give
effect to all its provisions whenever possible.
• A statute must receive such reasonable construction as will,
if possible, make all its parts harmonize with each other,
and render them consistent with its scope and object.
• All the provisions, even if apparently contradictory, should
be allowed to stand and given effect by reconciling them.
• The statute must be so construed as to prevent a conflict
between parts of it.
• Special & general provisions in some statute:
- Where there is a particular or special provision & a
general provision in the same statute and a latter in its
most comprehensive sense would overrule the former,
the particular lot special provision must be operative
and the general provision must be taken to affect only
the other parts of the statute to which it may properly
apply.
Cardinal rule in stat con: the particular words, clauses, and phrase
should not be studied as detached and isolated expressions, but the
whole and every part of the statute must be considered in fixing the
meaning of any of its parts and in order to produce a harmonious
whole.
How Courts construe a statute as a whole:
✓ Take the thought conveyed by the statute as a whole
✓ Construe the constituent parts together
✓ Ascertain the legislative intent from the whole act
✓ Consider each and every provision thereof in the light of the
general purpose of the statute
✓ Endeavor to make every part effective harmonious and
sensible
✓ Maxim: ut res magis valeat quam pereat
- Construction is to be sought which gives effect
to the whole of the statute-its every word.
POWER OF JUDICIAL REVIEW
Requisites of Judicial Review
a.) Sec. 1, Art. VIII “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.”
b.) Requisites:
1. There must be an ACTUAL CASE OR CONTROVERSY;
2. The person bringing up the issue of constitutionality must have
LEGAL STANDING (locus standi);
3. The constitutional issue must be RAISED AT THE EARLIEST
POSSIBLE OPPORTUNITY – On the PLEADINGS;
4. The constitutional issue must be the LIS MOTA of the case.
 ROLE OF PREAMBLE
PREAMBLE
Part of the statute following the title and preceding the enacting
clause, which states the reasons for, or the objects of the
enactment.
• A prefatory statement or explanation of a finding of facts,
reciting the purpose, reason or occasion for making the
law to which it is prefixed.
• Part of the statute written immediately after its title,
which states the purpose, reason, or justification for the
enactment of the law
• Expressed in the form of ”Whereas” clauses
• Generally omitted in statutes passed by the
✓ Philippine Commission
✓ Philippine Legislature
✓ National Assembly
✓ Congress of the Philippines
✓ Batasang Pambansa
• Held that it is the key of the statute, to open the minds of
the lawmakers as to the purpose to be achieved, the
mischief to be remedied and the object to be
accomplished, by the provisions of the statute
• Sets the intention of the legislature
• Usually found after the enacting clause and before the
body of the law
• Presidential decrees and EOs generally have preambles
because, unlike statutes enacted by the legislature in
which the members thereof expound on the purpose of
the bill in its explanatory note or in the course of
deliberations, no better place than in the preamble can
the reason and purpose of the decree be stated
• Play an important role in the construction of Presidential
Decrees
• While the preamble of a statute is not strictly a part
thereof, it may, when the statute is in itself ambiguous
and difficult of interpretation, be resorted to, but not to
create a doubt or uncertainty which otherwise does not
exist
Cases:
1. Aglipay v. Ruiz (64 Phil. 201)
2. Estrada v. Escritor (A.M. No. P-02-1651)
3. Imbong v. Ochoa (G.R. No. 176579)
4. Narra Nickel Mining and Development Corp. v. Redmont
Consolidated Mines Corp. (G.R. No. 195580)
PRINCIPLE OF CONSTITUTIONAL SUPREMACY
Principle of Constitutional Supremacy
• If a law or contract violates any norm of the constitution
that law or contract whether promulgated by the
legislative or by the executive branch or entered into by
private persons for private purposes is null and void and
without any force and effect.
9 | STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION NOTES based from the book of Suarez and Agpalo
PRINCIPLE OF RELATIVE UNCONSTITUTIONALITY
SELF-EXECUTING
NEED FOR IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION
PROGRESSIVE INTERPRETATION
PROGRESSIVE INTERPRETATION
• Extends by construction the application of a statute to all
subjects or conditions within its general purpose or scope
that come into existence subsequent to its passage and thus
keeps legislation from becoming ephemeral and transitory
unless there is a legislative intent to the contrary.
• It is a rule of statutory construction that legislative
enactments in general and comprehensive terms,
prospective in operation, apply alike to all persons, subjects
and business within their general purview and scope coming
into existence subsequent to their passage.
Orceo V. COMELEC
The interpretation of the term “firearm’ if it can also be applied to
airsoft guns-which are in nature, for leisure purposes. COMELEC
issued a resolution stating that even a replica of these guns are
prohibited because it will stir fear to people who can’t distinguish a
fake from real gun and WN they have committed grave abuse of
discretion.
RULING: Even the possession of airsoft guns is regulated by PNP
and in effect, subject to a regulation and COMELC has the right to
include it in their resolution but SC suggested the deletion of
“replicas” and “imitations of guns”. It holds that COMELEC didn’t
commit a grave abuse of discretion in including the airsoft guns
prohibited. SC declared a portion of an issuance not valid while
retaining another portion of the statute as valid.
STATUTES
LAW – can be written or unwritten; any rule of action or norm of
conduct applicable to all kinds of action and to objects of creation.
• Defined as a rule of conduct, just and obligatory and laid
down by a legitimate authority (must be created by an
authority assigned where the powers are granted by the
Constitution-legislative department or other agencies that
have the legislative power that is within their jurisdiction)
ordained for the common benefit
STATUTES – an act of the legislature as an organized body,
expressed in the form, and passed according to the procedure,
required to constitute it as part of the law of the land.
STATUTES
An act of the legislature as an organized body, expressed in the
form and passed according to the procedure, required to constitute
it as part of the law of the land
• Enacted and passed by Philippine Commission, the Philippine
Legislature, Batasang Pambansa and Congress of the
Philippines
 PUBLIC STATUTES PRIVATE STATUTES Kinds of Statutes: As to Application
Affects the public at large or Applies only to a specific MANDATORY One which must be observed; a statute
the whole community person or subject which contains a word of command or
Whether a statute is public or private depends on substance prohibition which a person has no
rather than on form choice but to obey
DIRECTORY One which leaves it optional with the
department of officer to which it is
addressed to obey it or not, as he may
PROSPECTIVE STATUTES RETROACTIVE STATUTES
see fit; permissive in operation; a statute
Operates upon facts or Takes away or impairs vested
which operated to confer discretion
transactions that occur after rights acquired under existing
upon a person namely to act according
the stature takes effect laws, or creates a new
to the dictates of their own judgment
obligation and imposes new
and conscience and not controlled by
duty or attaches a new
the judgment of others.
disability in respect of
transactions or considerations
already past Kinds of Statutes: As to Performance/Duration
Looks and applies to the “Ex post facto laws” Permanent Whose operation is not limited in
future duration but continues until repealed.
E.g. RA No. 7167 granting Some statutes are by nature, Temporary Whose duration is for a limited period of
increased personal intended to be retroactive, time fixed in the statute itself or whose
exemptions from income tax such as remedial or curative life ceases upon the happening of an
to be available statutes as well as statutes event.
which create new rights When a stature is designed to meet an emergency, it ends
Words/phrases indicating upon the cessation of such emergency-temporary in character
prospectivity:
• “hereafter”
Other Classifications of Statutes
• “thereafter”
Prospective Retroactive
• “from and after the passing
It is prospective it is expected If it takes effect from a date in
of this Act”
to happen in the future; a law the past
• “Shall have been made”
is prospective at all times
• “from and after”
Repealing Act Amendatory Act
• “Shall” - implies that the
lawmakers intend the
Reference Statute Declaratory Statute
enactment to be effective
only in the future Statute that refers to other Statute enacted to clarify prior
• “shall take effect upon its statutes and make them law by reconciling conflicting
applicable to the subject of judicial decisions or by
approval” OR “on the date
the legislation; object is to explaining the meaning of a
the President shall have
incorporate into the act of prior statute; purpose is to
issued a proclamation or
EO” – shows that the which they are a part of the declare or settle the law
provisions of other statutes by where its correct
stature have no retroactive
reference and adoption interpretation has been
but prospective effect
doubtful or uncertain.
Where a statute is susceptible of a construction other than that
of retroactively, OR where a retroactive application will render
the law unconstitutional, the statute will be given a prospective
ENACTMENT OF STATUTES
effect and operation
In general, the steps and actions taken and words and language
Whether a statute operates retroactively or only prospectively
employed to enact a statute are important parts of legislative
depends upon legislative intent.
history, which are important aids in ascertaining legislative intent,
in the interpretation of ambiguous provisions of the law.
Manner of referring to statutes:
• Public Acts – statutes passed by Phil. Commission & The study of statutory construction should begin with how a bill is
Philippine Legislature from 1901-1935 enacted into law.
• Commonwealth Acts – laws enacted during the
Commonwealth from 1936-1946 Distinction of the powers of the 3 branches
• Republic Acts – passed by the Congress of Phil.
from1946-1972 Legislative Power Executive Power Judicial Power
• Batas Pambansa – laws promulgated by the Power to enact To execute power, To interpret and
Batasang Pambansa laws to execute the laws apply the laws
By physical arrangement
• Presidential Decrees & Executive Orders – issued by
▪ First and appears to be more extensive and broad than the
the President in the exercise of his legislative power
2 branches
▪ Without a law, the executive has nothing to execute and the
judiciary has nothing to interpret and apply

10 | STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION NOTES based from the book of Suarez and Agpalo
 Kinds of Statutes: As to Nature
PENAL STATUTES Creates a criminal offense or provides
for any penalty (e.g. forfeiture)
enforceable in civil proceedings;
Interpretation of penal sections is that
‘if there is a reasonable interpretation
which will avoid the penalty in any
particular case we must adopt the
construction. If there are two
reasonable constructions, we must give
the more lenient one.’
REMEDIAL Prescribes the method of enforcing
STATUTES rights or obtain redress for their
invasions; Come to be enacted on
demand of the permanent public policy
generally receive a liberal
interpretation
SUBSTANTIVE Part of the law which creates, defines
STATUTES and regulates rights, or which the right
and duties which give rise to a cause of
action; part of law which courts are
established to administer
LABOR STATUTES Determines all employment practices
and labor relations
TAX STATUTES
Legislative power of the Congress
Sec. 1 Art. VI Constitution provides that “legislative power shall be
vested in the Congress of the Philippines which shall consist of a
Senate and a House of Representatives, except to the extent
reserved to the people by the provision on initiative and
referendum.
• It is the power to make, alter and repeal laws
• The grant of legislative power in Congress is broad,
general and comprehensive
• Legislative body possesses plenary power for all purposes
of civil government
• Legislative power embraces all subjects and extends to
matters of general concern or common interest.
• It is vested in the Congress consisting of a Senate and a
House of Representatives, not in a particular chamber,
but in both chambers.
• Means a grant of all legislative power.
• President – 1973 & Freedom (PD and EO respectively)
• Sangguniang barangay, panglungsod, panlalawigan –
only within respective jurisdiction
• Administrative or executive officer
• Delegated power
• Issue rules and regulations to implement a specific law
Where do bills originate?
• Originates from a member of the Senate or the House of
representatives and is approved by them
• But Constitution provides that all bills on some should
originate from the House of Representatives:
1. Appropriation
2. Revenue/tariff bills
3. Bills authorizing increase of public debt
4. Bills of public application
5. Private Bills
• Can also come from the Senate and House of
Representatives
• Once approved, bill can become a statute
11 | STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION NOTES based from the book of Suarez and Agpalo
PARTS OF STATUTES
1.
Title of Statute
a) Purposes of title requirement
b) Subject of repeal of statute
c) How requirement of title construed
d) When requirement not applicable
e) Effect of insufficiency of title
2. Title
3. Enacting clause
4. Purview or body of statute
5. Exceptions and Provisos
6. Repealing Clause (interpretative, repealing, separability,
saving clauses)
7. Effectivity clause (date of effectivity)
_____________________________________________________
Title of Statute
1. Title of Statute
Constitution: Every bill passed by Congress shall embrace only one
subject which shall be expressed in the title
• This is a mandatory provision, and a law enacted in violation
above is unconstitutional.
The limitations on constitutional provision:
1. Legislature is to refrain from conglomeration, under one
state, of heterogenous subjects
2. Title of the bill is to be couched in a language sufficient to
notify the legislators and the public and those concerned
of the import of the single subject.
Q: Can a bill embrace more than one subject?
No. it shall only embrace one subject which shall be expressed in
the title thereof (Sec. 26 (1) Art. VI Constitution)
a) Purposes of title requirement
PURPOSES OF SUCH REQUIREMENT
1. To prevent hodge-podge or log-rolling legislation
2. To prevent surprise or fraud upon the legislature
3. To fairly apprise the people for the subjects of legislation
being considered so that they may have the opportunity
of being heard thereon, if they shall so desire.
4. Title of the statute is used as a guide in ascertaining
legislative intent when the language of the act does not
clearly express it purpose.
Hodge-podge or logrolling legislation
A mischievous legislative practice of embracing in one bill several
distinct matters, none of which, could singly obtain the assent of
the legislator, and then procuring its passage by a combination of
the minorities in favor of each of the measure into a majority that
will adopt them all.
Aim of constitutional provision:
• Aimed at against the evils of so-called omnibus bills and log-
rolling legislation as well as surreptitious or unconsidered
enactments.
Effect of violating the requirement
Statutes passed in violation of said requirement shall be declared
void by the courts. However, this requirement shall be reasonably
applied in order not to interfere unduly with the enactment of
necessary legislation.

Test of sufficiency of a title
✓ Need not be a catalogue or an index in its contents
✓ Need not recite the details of the Act
✓ It is a valid title if it indicates in broad but clear terms the
nature, scope, and consequences of the proposed law and its
operation.
b) Subject of repeal of statute
Repeal of a statute on a given subject is properly connected with
the subject matter of a new statute on the same subject – a
repealing section in the new statute is valid
Reason: Where a statute repeals a former law, such repeal is the
effect and not the subject of the statute; and it is the subject, not
the effect of a law, which is required to be briefly expressed in its
title.
c) How requirement of title is construed
▪ It should be liberally construed
▪ It should be given technical interpretation nor it should
be narrowly construed as to cripple or impede the power
of legislation
▪ Construe the constitutional requirement in such manner
that courts do not unduly interfere with the enactment
of necessary legislation and to consider it sufficient if the
title expresses the general subject of the statute and all
its provisions are germane to the general subject thus
expressed
d) When requirement is not applicable
The requirement that a bill shall embrace only one subject which
shall be expressed in its title as embodied in the 1935 and
reenacted in 1973 and 1987 Constitutions – such requirement
applies only to bills which may thereafter be enacted into law. It
does not apple to laws in force and existing at the time for the 1935
Constitution.
e) Effect of insufficiency of title
A statute whose title does not conform to the constitutional
requirement or is not related in any manner to its subject is null and
void.
Q: What happens in case of doubt as to the sufficiency of the title of
the act?
When there is doubt as to the insufficiency of either the title, or the
act, the legislation should be sustained. The presumption is in the
favor of the validity of the acts.
Q: Is the said requirement applicable to ordinances of different
councils (municipal, city, provincial)?
No, because they are not laws enacted by the Congress as provided
in Sec. 26(1) Art. VI of Constitution:
“Every bill passed by the Congress shall embrace only one subject
which shall be expressed in the title thereof.”
Preamble
2. Preamble
A prefatory statement or explanation or a finding of facts, reciting the
purpose, reason, or occasion for making the law to which it is
prefixed.
• Usually found after the enacting clause and before the
body of the law
• A statement embodying the purpose, reason or occasion
for the enactment of the law contained in its explanatory
note.
12 | STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION NOTES based from the book of Suarez and Agpalo
• PDs and EOs generally have preambles apparently to
expound on the purpose of the bill in its explanatory note
or in the course of deliberations
• Plays an important role in the construction of PDs
• Part of the statute following the title and preceding the
enacting clause, which states the reasons for, or the objects
of the enactment.
Enacting Clause
3. Enacting clause
Written immediately after the title thereof which states the authority
by which the act is enacted.
• Part of the statute that indicates the authority that
promulgated the enactment.
• Is not essential to the validity of the law but this clause
clothes the statute with a certain dignity because the
specific authority that promulgated the law is therein
stated.
Example:
“Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled”
Body
4. Purview or body of statute
The part of a statute which tells what the law is all about.
Contains the subject matter of the statute.
▪ Body of a statute should embrace only one subject matter.
▪ Legislative practice in writing a statute is to divide an act
into sections, each of which is numbered and contains a
single proposition
▪ Complex and comprehensive piece of legislation: contains
the following:
✓ Short title
✓ Policy section
✓ Definition section
✓ Administrative section
✓ Sections prescribing standards of conduct
✓ Section imposing sanctions for violation of its
provisions
✓ Transitory provision
✓ Separability clause
✓ Repealing clause
✓ Effectivity clause
Exceptions
5. Exceptions and Provisos
Proviso – it is a clause added to an enactment for the purpose of
acting as a restraint upon or as a qualification of, the generality of the
language which it follows.
6. Interpretative, repealing, separability, saving clause
6.1 Interpretative Clause
Part of the statute where the legislature defines its own language
or prescribes rules for its construction
6.2. Repealing Clause
Part of the statute that announces the legislative intent to
terminate or revoke another statute or statutes.
 When the legislature repeals a law, the repeal is not a legislative
declaration finding the earlier law unconstitutional.
NOTE: The power to declare a law unconstitutional does not lie
with the legislature, but with the courts.
6.3. Saving Clause
Restricts a repealing act and preserves existing powers, rights and
pending proceedings from the effects of the repeal.
6.4. Separability clause
Part of a statute which states that any provision of the act is declared
invalid, the reminder shall not be affected
• It is a legislative expression of intent that the nullity of one
provision shall not invalidate the other provisions of the
act.
• Creates a presumption that the legislature intended
separability, rather than complete nullity of the statute.
This means that if one part of the statute is void or
unconstitutional, the other parts thereof which are valid
may still stand.
GENERAL RULE:
▪ It is subject to the limitation that if the parts of the statute
are so mutually dependent and connected thereby
creating a belief that the legislature intended them as a
whole, the nullity or unconstitutionality of one part may
vittate the rest.
Effectivity Clause
7. Effectivity Clause
The provision when the law takes effect
✓ The provision as to the effectivity of the law states that it
shall take effect 15 days from publication in the Official
Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Q: When shall a law take effect?
All laws, including those of local application and private laws, shall
be published first and this requirement shall be a condition for their
effectivity. HOWEVER, it does not apply to interpretative
regulations and to those merely internal in nature.
Effectivity of Presidential Issuances
▪ Publication as a prerequisite
▪ They take effect after 15 days following the completion
of their publication in the Official Gazette or in a
newspaper of general publication.
▪ However, those treated as interpretative regulations or
which are internal in nature, and not concerning the
public, need not be published.
Effectivity of Ordinance
▪ Sec. 11 of Local Government Code, it shall take effect
after the lapse of 10 days from the date a copy of it is
posted in a bulletin board located in a conspicuous place
at the provincial, city, municipal or barangay hall, at the
public market, and/or at the church or chapel.
▪ In highly urbanized cities, the main features of the
ordinance, MUST, in addition to the previous requisites
to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in
the city.
Q: Who are subject to Philippine Laws?
Laws relating to family rights and duties or to the status, condition
and legal capacity of persons are binding upon citizens of the
Philippines, even though living abroad.
✓ Real and personal properties
13 | STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION NOTES based from the book of Suarez and Agpalo
✓ Matters respecting remedies, such as the bringing of suit,
admissibility of evidence, and the statute of limitations,
depend upon the law of the place where the suit is
brought.
HOW A BILL IS MADE
Three ways a law is passed:
1. Approval and signing of the president
2. When there’s no communication on the veto of
President for 30 days
3. Vetoed bill is repassed by the Congress by 2/3 of its
member, from houses voting separately
1st reading
Reading of the number and the title of the bill, then referral to the
appropriate committee for study and recommendation. Conduct of
public hearing by the Committee and submits report and
recommendation
2nd Hearing
• The bill shall be read in full with the amendments
proposed by the committee
• Copies are distributed and such reading is dispensed with
• The bill is subject to debates, pertinent motions, and
amendment
• The amendments shall have acted upon, the bill be voted.
• After the approval of the bill, the 2 nd reading shall be
included in the calendar of bills for 3rd reading
3rd Reading
• A bill is approved by either House after it has gone 3
readings (art. 6 sec. 26)
• The bill is passed by the voting of the separate Houses
• Conference committee reports of which the bill is
approved on 3rd reading by one House is transmitted to
the other House for concurrence, which will follow
substantially the same route as bill originally filed with it.
• It should be approved in the Congress and then
transmitted to the Senate for approval
• Conference committee is the mechanism for composing
differences between the Senate and the House in the
passage of a bill into law.
• 3 versions of a bill or revenue bill originating from the
lower House: (1) From the lower house; (2) Senate; (3)
conference committee
• Bill approved by the Houses shall be transmitted to the
President for appropriate action
• Bill is then authenticated by the Speaker and the Senate
President of the printed copy of the approved bill.
Authentication of bills
Lawmaking process in Congress ends when the bill is approved by
the body. It is this approval that it is indispensable to the validity of
the bill.
▪ Before an approved bill is sent to the President for his
consideration as required by the Constitution, the bill is
authenticated
▪ System of authentication devised is the signing by the
Speaker and the Senate President of the printed copy of
the approved bill, certified by the respective secretaries
of both Houses, to signify to the President that the bill
being presented to him has been duly approved by the
legislature ad is ready for his approval or rejection.
President’s approval or veto
The President shall have the power to veto any particular items in
an appropriation, revenue, or tariff bill, but the veto shall not affect
the item or items to which he does not object.
▪ The president may not only veto any particular item, but
also any inappropriate” provisions in the bill.
▪ Vetoes within 30 days after receipt
▪ If President vetoes – send back to the House where it
originated with recommendation
➢ 2/3 of all members approves, it will be sent to
the house for approval
➢ 2/3 of the other house approves – it shall
become a law
➢ If president did not act on the bill within 30
days after receipt, bill becomes a law
VALIDITY OF STATUTES
VALIDITY
Presumption of constitutionality
• Every statute is presumed valid
- Lies on how a law is enacted
- Due respect to the legislative who passed and executive
who approved
- Responsibility of upholding the constitution rests not on the
courts alone but on the legislative and executive branches
as well
• Courts cannot inquire into the wisdom or propriety of laws
• To declare a law unconstitutional, the repugnancy of the law to
the constitution must be clear and unequivocal
• All reasonable doubts should be resolved in favor of the
constitutionality of law; to doubt is to sustain
• Final arbiter of unconstitutionality of law is the SC En Banc
(majority who took part and voted thereon)
• Trial courts have jurisdiction to initially decide the issue of
constitutionality of a law in appropriate cases.
No constitutional question will be heard, unless the following
requisites of judicial inquiry are with, to wit:
1. There must be an actual case or controversy
2. The question of constitutionality must be raised by the
proper party
3. The constitutional question must be raised at the earlies
possible opportunity
4. The decision of the constitutional question must be
necessary to the determination of the case itself
What is the effect of a statute which is declared unconstitutional?
2 schools of thought:
1. Orthodox View
-
When courts declare a law to be inconsistent with the
Constitution, the former shall be void and the latter
shall govern
2. The Second View
- SC simply ignores statutes deemed unconstitutional
- Does not strike the statute from the statute books; it
does not repeal, supersede, revoke or annul the statute
Enrolled Bill
Bills as passed by Congress, authenticated by the House Speaker
and Senate President and approved by the President
RULE: The text of the act as passed and approved is deemed
importing absolute verity and is binding on the courts. If there has
been any mistake in the printing of the bill before it was certified,
the remedy is by amendment by enacting a curative legislation and
not a judicial decree.
14 | STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION NOTES based from the book of Suarez and Agpalo
PRESUMPTION: It carries on its face a solemn assurance by the
legislative and executive departments of the government that it
was passed by the assembly. Hence, the respect due to co-equal
and independent departments requires the judiciary to act upon
that assurance and to accept all bills duly authenticated.
EFFECTIVITY AND OPERATION OF STATUTES
When laws take effect
• Art. 2: laws to be effective must be published either in the
Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation in the
country.
➢ Effectivity provision refers to all statutes, including those
local and private, unless there are special laws providing
a different effectivity mechanism for particular statutes
• Effectivity of laws:
✓ Default rule – 15-day period
✓ Must be published either in the OG or newspaper of
general circulation in the country; publication must be
full
• The clause “unless it is otherwise provided” – solely refers to
the 15-day period and not to the requirement of publication
Presidential Issuances, Rules and Ordinances
Presidential Issuances
Are those which the President issues in the exercise of his
ordinance power that such issuances have the force and effect of
the law. Includes:
• 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.
• Administrative orders
- Acts of the President which relate to 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 specific laws or regulation is
made to depend
• Memorandum orders
- Acts of the President on matters of administrative
detail or of subordinate or temporary interest which
may concern a particular officer of office of the
Government.
• Memorandum circulars
- Acts of the President n 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 special orders
- Acts and commands of the President in his capacity as
Commander-in-Chief of the AFP
SC Circulars: Rules and Regulations
The 1987 Constitution grants the SC the power to promulgate rules
concerning the protection and enforcement of constitutional
rights, pleading, practice, and procedure in all courts, the admission
to the practice of law, IBP and legal assistance to the
underprivileged.
The rule making power of SC as provided in Sec. 5(5) Art. VIII
Constitution and complemented by Sec. 30 Art. VI of Constitution
which provides that:
“No law shall be passed increasing the appellate
jurisdiction of SC as provided in this Constitution without its advice
and concurrence.”
• It has been held that a law which provides that a decision
of quasi-judicial body be appealable directly to the SC, if
enacted without the advice and concurrence of SC,
ineffective
Remedy or applicable procedure – go to CA
• Rule-making power of public administrative agency is a
delegated legislative power – if it enlarges or restricts
such statute is invalid.
• Requisites for delegating a statute by legislative branch
to another branch of government to fill in details,
execution, enforcement, or administration of a law… the
law must be:
✓ Complete in itself
✓ Fix a standard which may be express
Example:
✓ Change of “and/or” to “or” – invalid
✓ Change of “may” (permissive) to “shall”
(mandatory) – invalid (Grego v. COMELEC)
Administrative Rule
- Rule – makes new law with the force and effect of a valid law;
binding on the courts even if they are not in agreement with
the policy stated therein or with its innate wisdom
- Administrative construction is not necessarily binding upon
the courts; it may be set aside by judicial department (if there
is an error of law, or abuse of power or lack of jurisdiction or
GAD – grave abuse of discretion)
Interpretation of Administrative Rule
Merely advisory for it is the courts that finally determine what the
law means
CASE: Victorias Millling Co. v. SSC (march 17 1962)
Construction of AOs ad IRRs vis-à-vis Statutes
Ordinances: Barangay, Municipal, City and Provincial
Barangay Ordinance
• Sangguniang barangay as the smallest legislative body
• It may pass an ordinance affecting a barangay by majority
vote of all its members
• Barangay ordinance is subject to review by the sangguniang
bayan (SB) or sangguniang panglungsod (SP), as the case may
be, to determine whether is consistent with law or with
municipal or city ordinance.
• SB or SP shall take action on the ordinance within 30 days
from submission.
• If it does not take action within the said period, the ordinance
will be presumed consistent with law or municipal or city
ordinance and shall be presumed approved
• If it is inconsistent with law or city or municipal ordinance, it
shall return the same to the Sangguniang Barangay
concerned for adjustment, amendment, or modification, in
which case the effectivity of the ordinance is suspended.
15 | STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION NOTES based from the book of Suarez and Agpalo
Municipal Ordinance
• The power to enact municipal ordinance is lodged with
the Sangguinang Bayan (SB).
• There should be a quorum and necessary for the passage
of any ordinance.
• The ordinance is then submitted to the municipal mayor
who, within 20 days from receipt thereof, shall return it
either with his approval or veto.
• If he does not return it within 20 days, it shall be deemed
approved.
• The SB may by 2/3 vote of all members, override the veto
of the mayor, in which it shall become effective for all
legal intents and purposes.
• Approved ordinance is then submitted to the SP for
review > SP may within 30 days from receipt of the
ordinance, invalidate it in whole or in part, and its action
shall be final.
• If SP does not take action on the ordinance within 30 days
after its submission, it shall be presumed consistent with
law and therefore valid.
City Ordinance
• Power to pass city ordinance is vested in the SP
• Be voted upon quorum for the passage of any ordinance
• Approved ordinance shall be submitted to the city mayor
who, within 10 days from receipt thereof, shall return it
with his approval or veto.
• If he does not return it within that time, it shall be
deemed approved.
• The SP may repass a vetoed ordinance by 2/3 vote of all
members
• If the city is a component city, the approved ordinance is
submitted to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for review
which shall take action therein within 30 days, otherwise,
it will be deemed valid.
Magtajas v. Pryce properties & City of CDO
Ordinance issued by LGU-CDO doesn’t meet the requirements of a
valid ordinance for questioning the validity of PD 1869 that allows
a regulated gambling.
Bagatsing v. Ramirez
Differing publications on special law over general law. Revised
Charter of the City of Manila is a special law since it related only to
the City of Manila. Local Tax Code is s general law as a universal rule
affecting the entire community. City charter was 1st enacted then
the local tax Code.
Provincial Ordinance
• The Sangguniang Panlalawigan, as a legislative body of a
province, may by vote of majority of the members
present, there being a quorum, enact ordinances
affecting the province.
• The ordinance is then forwarded to the governor who,
within 15 days from receipt thereof, shall return it with
his approval or veto.
• If he does not return it within that time, it shall be
deemed approved.
• A vetoed ordinance may be repassed by the Sangguniang
Panlalawigan by a 2/3 vote of all its members.
_____________________________________________________
Transcript from session last Oct. 9, 2021
Can a brilliant person propose his or her bill to initiate it to the
Senate?
Constitution provides that bills exclusively originate from House of
Representatives – he or she can have it sponsored by a member of
the House of Representatives. It should go first to the House of
Representatives
Who enacts the statutes?
Depends on the name of the statute and the number
• Public Acts - during 1901-1935
• Commonwealth Acts – 1936-1946
• Reublic Acts – 1942-1973
• PDs – Martial Law regime
• Batas Pambansa – approved by Batasang Pambansa
How requirement construed
• Liberally construed
• If there is doubt, it should be resolved against the doubt
and in favor of the constitutionality of the statute
When there is compliance with requirement
• Comprehensive enough - Include general object
• If all parts of the law are related, and are germane to
Lambino v. COMELEC
No. This is not allowed. To exercise an initiative one should present
the draft of the whole Constitution of the revisions or amendments
that they are going to make before the people could sign (to
prevent hodgepodge/logrolling legislation). Amendment can be
through initiative and not for revision. Lambino cannot make an
initiative-only amendment.
Would the one subject and title apply to a municipal ordinance?
No.it cannot be declared unconstitutional since it only refers to a
bill passed/enacted in Congress.
16 | STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION NOTES based from the book of Suarez and Agpalo
Aids to Construction (p.157)
Application in general:
• Where the meaning of a statute is ambiguous, the court is
warranted in availing itself of all illegitimate aids to construction
in order that it can ascertain the true intent of the statute.
INTRIINSIC AIDS
The aids of construction are those found in the printed page of that
statute itself
• ’Whereas’ clause as an aid
- The whereas clause is the intent to cover only those
aspects of government that pertain to administration,
organization and procedure, and understandably
because of the many changes that transpired in the
government structure since the enactment of the old
code
• Headings
- When the text of a statute is clear and unambiguous,
there is neither necessity nor propriety to resort to the
headings or epigraphs of a section for interpretation of
the text, especially when they are mere reference aids
indicating the general nature of the text that follows.
• Arrangement and ordering
- The rearrangement of sections or parts of a statute, or
the placing of portions of what formerly was a single
section in separate sections, does not operate to
change the operation, effect of meaning of the statute,
unless the changes are of such nature as to manifest
clearly and unmistakably a legislative intent to change
the former laws.
EXTRINSIC AIDS
Those extraneous facts and circumstances outside the printed
page.
RULE: If the language of the constitutional provision is plain
it is not necessary to resort to extrinsic aids
Sources of extrinsic aids:
a. Legislative History/Origin of Statute
- A statute is susceptible of several interpretations or where
there is ambiguity in the language, there is no better means
of ascertaining the will and intention of the legislature than
that which is afforded by the history of the statute.
What constitutes legislative history (p.173)
• History of a statute refers to all its antecedents from its
inception until its enactment into law.
• Its history proper covers the period and the steps done
from the time the bill is introduced until it is finally
passed by the legislature.
What it includes:
✓ President’s message if the bill is enacted in response
thereto
✓ The explanatory note accompanying the bill
✓ Committee reports of legislative investigations
✓ Public hearings on the subject of the bill
✓ Sponsorship speech
✓ Debates and deliberations concerning the bill
✓ Amendments and changes in phraseology in which it
undergoes before final approval thereof.
 ✓ If the statute is based from a revision, a prior statute, g. Executive Construction (p.190)
the latter’s practical application and judicial construction • Is the construction placed upon the statute by an
✓ Various amendments it underwent executive or administrative officer.
• Three types of interpretation:
b. Realities existing at the time of adoption (p. 178) 1. RULE: Construction by an executive or administrative
• In ascertaining the intention of the lawmaker, courts are officer directly called to implement the law.
permitted to look to prior laws on the same subject and
to investigate the antecedents of the statute involved.
2. WHEN NOT FAVORED: Construction by the secretary
• This is applicable in the interpretation of codes, revised,
of justice in his capacity as the chief legal adviser of
or compiled, for the prior laws which have been codified,
the government.
compiled or revised will show the legislative history that
will clarify the intent of the law or shed light on the
meaning and scope of the codified or revised statute. 3. RULE v. OPINION: Handed down in an adversary
proceeding in the form of a ruling by an executive
c. Legislative debates officer exercising quasi-judicial power.
• Courts may avail to themselves the actual proceedings of
the legislative body to assist in determining the
construction of a statute of doubtful meaning.
• There is doubt to what a provision of a statute means,
that meaning which was put to the provision during the
legislative deliberation or discussion on the bill may be
adopted.
• Views expressed are as to the bill’s purpose, meaning or
effect are not controlling in the interpretation of the law.
• It is impossible to determine with authority what
construction was put upon an act by the members of the
legislative body that passed the bill.
• The opinions expressed by legislators in the course of
debates concerning the application of existing laws are
not also given decisive weight, especially where the
legislator was not a member of the assembly that
enacted the said laws.
• When a statute is clear and free from ambiguity, courts
will not inquire into the motives which influence the
legislature or individual members, in voting for its
passage; no indeed as to the intention of the draftsman,
or the legislators, so far as it has not been expressed into
the act.

d. Changes in phraseology (p.181)

• Intent to change the meaning of the provision
• A statute has undergone several amendments, ach
amendment using different phraseology, the deliberate
selection of language differing from that of the earlier act
on the subject indicates that a change in meaning of the
law was intended and courts should so construe that
statute as to reflect such change in meaning

e. Usage
• Common usage and practice under the statute, or a
course of conduct indicating a particular undertaking of
it, especially where the usage has been acquiesced in by
all the parties concerned and has extended over a long
period of time.
• Optimus interpres rerum usus – the best interpretation of
the law is usage.

f. Contemporaneous Acts of Legislature (not sure ko ani)

• Where a statute is revised or a series of legislative acts on
the same subject are revised or consolidated into one,
covering the entire field of subject matter, all parts and
provisions of the former act or acts that are omitted from
the revised act are deemed repealed.

17 | STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION NOTES based from the book of Suarez and Agpalo