Tanada v. Tuvera G.R No.

L-63915 April 24, 1985

LORENZO M. TAÑADA, ABRAHAM F. SARMIENTO, and

MOVEMENT OF ATTORNEYS FOR BROTHERHOOD, INTEGRITY
AND NATIONALISM, INC. [MABINI], petitioners,
vs.
HON. JUAN C. TUVERA, in his capacity as Executive Assistant to
the President, HON. JOAQUIN VENUS, in his capacity as Deputy
Executive Assistant to the President , MELQUIADES P. DE LA
CRUZ, in his capacity as Director, Malacañang Records Office,
and FLORENDO S. PABLO, in his capacity as Director, Bureau of
Printing, respondents.

Nature of the Case: Petition for Mandamus - Publication of the Law

Facts: Petitioners Lorenzo Tañada and others filed a writ of mandamus to

compel Respondent Juan Tuvera, et.al. to publish in the Official
Gazette various presidential decrees, letters of instruction, general
orders, proclamations, executive orders, letter of implementation, and
administrative orders issued by the Office of the President. They
invoke the constitutional right of the people to be informed, as well as
the principle that laws are valid and enforceable after their publication
in the Official Gazette.

The Respondent opposed the petition by contending that the

publication in the Official Gazette is not a sine qua non requirement for
the effectivity of the laws where the laws themselves provide for their
own effectivity dates. The presidential issuances in question contain
special provisions as to the date they are to take effect considering
that Article 2 of the Civil Code provides that laws shall take effect as
well when otherwise provided.

Issues: 1. Whether or not the clause “unless otherwise provided” refers to the
effectivity of the law or the publication requirements

2. Whether or not publication is required

Decision 1. The clause refers to the 15-day period before the effectivity of
the law and not the publication requirements. 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.

2. Publication is an indispensable requirement. The absence of

such publication will render the said law ineffective. Covered by
this are presidential decrees and executive orders. On the
other hand, interpretative regulations and those merely
 internal in nature, that is, regulating only the personnel of the
administrative agency and not the public, need not be
published.

RTC: WHEREFORE, the Court hereby orders respondents to

publish in the Official Gazette all unpublished presidential
issuances which are of general application, and unless so
published, they shall have no binding force and effect.

SC: WHEREFORE, it is hereby declared that all laws as above

defined shall immediately upon their approval, or as soon
thereafter as possible, be published in full in the Official Gazette,
to become effective only after fifteen days from their publication,
or on another date specified by the legislature, in accordance
with Article 2 of the Civil Code.

Ratio: 1. The clause “unless it is otherwise provided” in Art 2 of the

NCC refers to the effectivity of laws and not to the requirement
of publication.
2. The prior publication of laws before they become effective
cannot be dispensed with.
3. All statutes, including those of local application and private
laws, shall be published as a condition for their effectivity,
which shall begin fifteen days after publication unless a
different effectivity date is fixed by the legislature.
4. Internal instructions issued by an administrative agency are not
covered by the rule on prior publication. Also not covered are
municipal ordinances which are governed by the Local
Government Code.

Doctrines: Article 6, Art. IV - The right of the people to information on matters

of public concern shall be recognized

Notes:

● Writ of Mandamus
- an order from a court to an inferior government official ordering the government
official to properly fulfill their official duties
● There are no laws stating how many times a law should be published
● What needs to be published still depends on the nature of the publication