Name: Jerome T.

Oppus
Subject: Persons and Family Relations
Topic: Publication requirement

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, ETC., ET AL., respondents.
G.R. No. L-63915 December 29, 1986

FACTS: The petitioners argued that a number of presidential decrees had not been publicized
as required by law, therefore they invoked due process to demand that they be made public.
While publication was generally required, the government contended that it was not when it
was "otherwise provided," such as when the decrees themselves said that they were to take
effect immediately after being approved.
The Solicitor General argued that the motion was a request for an advisory opinion and
should be rejected. Then, on the basis of the merits, he argued that the phrase "unless it is
otherwise provided" in Article 2 of the Civil Code meant that publication was not always
required and that it was not always necessary to publish in the Official Gazette. Finally, he
argued that the subject decision was only supported by three justices, so it was invalid as a
result.
The supreme court interprets the phrase "unless it is otherwise provided" to refer to the
date of effectivity rather than the necessity of publication itself, which cannot in any case be
omitted, following a thorough consideration of the reasons presented by both sides. This
phrase does not imply that the legislature must publish the law prior to passing it in order
for it to become operative immediately after approval or at any other time. Publication is
required in every situation, but the legislature has the power to shorten or lengthen the
customary fifteen-day timeframe.

ISSUE: whether or not the clause "unless it is otherwise provided" refers to the date of
effectivity and not to the requirement of publication
Whether or not the publication requirement under article 2 of the new civil code is
dispensable/indispensable
SUPREME COURT RULING: The supreme court ruled 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.