Administrative Laws — Chapter II Administrative law is a recent development, being a consequence of the
ever-increasing complexities of society and the proliferation of problems of
 Recognition given as a distinct category of law.
Administrative Law is recognized as a separate and modern field of law.
De Leon and De Leon, Jr. (2010) points out that this field of law is of
comparatively recent origin. In fact, under the Anglo-American System,
administrative law is not one of the traditionally recognized parts of the law,
such, for example, as the criminal law, the common law, and equity.
In recent, decades and with the rapid expansion of administrative agencies
and their increased functions, a substantial body of jurisprudence has
developed in the field and general recognition has been given to
“administrative law” as a distinct category of law.
Dean Ruscoe Pound, defined it as that brank of modern law under which the
executive department of the government acting in quasi-legislative or quasi-
judicial capacity, interferes with the conduct of the individual for the purpose
of promoting the well-being of the community, as under laws regulating
public corporations, business affected with public interest, professions,
trades and callings, rates and prices, laws for the protection of the public
health and safety and the promotion of the public convenience and
advantage.
It is deemed “modern” because certain functions of administrative bodies
such as quasi-judicial and quasi-legislative roles are traditionally within the
sole and exclusive powers of the courts and the law-making body,
respectively. However, due to the increasing complexities of human life and
interactions and the convenience of that administrative law offers, not to
mention the expertise of administrative officers in certain areas of law in
resolving certain kinds of disputes, tribunals and hearing offices have been
created within the Executive Branch with support even from those who push
for separation of powers.
Administrative Law is that branch of modern law under which the
executive department of the government, acting in a quasi-legislative or
quasi-judicial capacity, interferes with the conduct of the individual for the
purpose of promoting the well-being of the community.
government that cannot readily or effectively be addressed by the public
agencies or solved by other disciplines of public law.
It was felt that the legislative and judicial departments no longer had either
the time or the needed expertise to attend to these new problems. Thus, the
obvious solution was delegation of power.
Two major powers of the administrative agency:
1) Quasi-legislative authority or — rule making power
2) Quasi-judicial power or — adjudicatory function
 Multiplication of Government Functions
In the beginning, the government did not have many functions as it has now.
There were very few activities to regulate and control. This is very much unlike
today when tens of billions of transactions happen every day.
Time marched forward and the economy grew as modern life became more
and more complex. More and more matters have become the concern of the
government. Certain fields have become so narrow that the Supreme Court
and Congress can no longer catch up and are no longer capable of crafting
rules or resolution to address each problem in every specific field.
This expansion of government regulation and the multiplication of
government functions have prompted our laws to create more an more
administrative bodies, commissions or specialized courts in the fields
assigned to them. For example, the legislature and courts may not be
equipped with the proper and right amount of knowledge, understanding and
skill in the field of medicine to make a primary determination of rules on how
to determine whether a medical practitioner has been negligent. Having this
reason in mind, in many jurisdictions, there are medical boards or tribunals
which have primary jurisdiction over violations committed by medical
experts.
 Growth and Utilization of Administrative Agencies
Administrative law developed as the natural accompaniment of the growth
of administrative agencies and their utilization in response to the needs of a
changing society.
 • It has developed from a combination of forces, some pressing on the
legal system from without, and some others from within, and it is, in
effect, a major response of the law to the complexities of a modern age.
To a large extent, administrative law has developed in response to the
need for broad social or governmental control over complex conditions
and activities which in their detail cannot be dealt with directly inn an
effective manner by the legislature or the judiciary. It has its dominant
purpose the promotion and conservation of the interests and
convenience of the public.
• The theory which underlies a good part of administrative law is that the
issues with which it deals ought to be decided by experts, and not by a
judge, at least not in the first instance, or until the facts have been sifted
and arranged. One thrust of the multiplication of administrative agencies
is that the interpretation of certain contracts and agreements and the
determination of private rights under them is no longer a uniquely
judicial function exercisable only by our regular courts.
 Fusion of Different Powers of Government Administrative
Agencies (Quasi-Fusion of Powers Without Violation of
Separation of Powers)
The general rule is that there exists a separation of powers among the great
branches of government and other constitutional bodies such as the
Ombudsman and the Commission on Elections.
Administrative Law is an exception to this rule as it allows agencies under the
Executive Branch to wield quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial powers.
Administrative Law, then, has resulted from the increased functions of
government, the recent tremendous growth in administrative agencies, and
the fact that the agencies created in this period of growth were much more
than conventional administrative officials such as had existed under earlier
legislation. With their extensive investigation, rule-making, and adjudicating
powers, these administrative agencies represent a provocative fusion of
different powers of government.
Administrative agencies are vested with the power to promulgate rules and
regulations to better carry out some legislative policies, and to decide on
controversies within the scope of their activities. The laws which created
administrative agencies, the rules and regulations promulgated by them, and
the body of decisions that they have from time to time rendered in the
adjudication of cases brought before them, now constitute the bulk of
administrative law. These rules and regulations have the force and effect of
law and are binding upon courts except when they have been issued ultra
vires i.e., beyond the authority given by the Constitution or by statute.
An example of power that cannot be given to administrative agencies is the
power to issue warrants of arrest. It would be a violation of the principle of
separation of powers to do so. In Salazar v. Achacoso, G.R. No. 81510, it was
held that thenceforth, the function of determining probable cause and
issuing, on the basis thereof, warrants of arrest or search warrants, may be
validly exercised only by judges, this being evidences by the elimination in
the present Constitution of the phrase, “such other responsible officer as
may be authorized by law” found in the counterpart provision of said 1973
Constitution, who, aside from judges, might conduct preliminary
investigations and issue warrants or arrest or search warrants.
According to De Leon and De Leon, Jr. (2010), administrative law is still in its
formative stages and is being developed as part of our traditional system of
law. The administrative process and its agencies are newcomers in the field
of law, but administrative agencies are now established as very important
tribunals in the administration of justice, making decisions sometimes of
vast importance and equal to matters determined by the courts. A
substantial part of the principles of administrative law in the Philippines is
derived from American and English jurisprudence on this branch of law. It
has persuasive, though not controlling, force in our jurisdiction.
 A Law in the Making
According to De Leon and De Leon, Jr. (2010), administrative law is still in its
formative stages and is being developed as part of our traditional system of
law. The administrative process and its agencies are newcomers in the field
of law, but administrative agencies are now established as very important
tribunals in the administration of justice, making decisions sometimes of
vast importance and equal to matters determined by the courts.
 Philippine Administrative Law
A substantial part of the principles of administrative law in the Philippines is
derived from American and English jurisprudence on this branch of law. It
has persuasive, though not controlling, force in our jurisdiction.