Political Law Reiew Medterm Exam Case

8/22/2019 Political Law Reiew Medterm Exam Case

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ABAKADA GURO PARTY LIST vs HON. CESAR V. PURISIMA

8/14/2008

After a careful consideration of the conflicting contentions of the parties, the Court finds thatpetitioners have failed to overcome the presumption of constitutionality in favor of RA 9335, except asshall hereafter be discussed.

Actual Case And Ripeness

An actual case or controversy involves a conflict of legal rights, an assertion of opposite legal claimssusceptible of judicial adjudication.10A closely related requirement is ripeness, that is, the questionmust be ripe for adjudication. And a constitutional question is ripe for adjudication when thegovernmental act being challenged has a direct adverse effect on the individual challenging it.11Thusto be ripe for judicial adjudication, the petitioner must show a personal stake in the outcome of thecase or an injury to himself that can be redressed by a favorable decision of the Court .12

In this case, aside from the general claim that the dispute has ripened into a judicial controversy bythe mere enactment of the law even without any further overt act ,13petitioners fail either to assert any

specific and concrete legal claim or to demonstrate any direct adverse effect of the law on them. Theyare unable to show a personal stake in the outcome of this case or an injury to themselves. On thisaccount, their petition is procedurally infirm.

This notwithstanding, public interest requires the resolution of the constitutional issues raised bypetitioners. The grave nature of their allegations tends to cast a cloud on the presumption ofconstitutionality in favor of the law. And where an action of the legislative branch is alleged to haveinfringed the Constitution, it becomes not only the right but in fact the duty of the judiciary to settle thedispute.14

Accountability of

Public Officers

Section 1, Article 11 of the Constitution states:

Sec. 1. Public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must at all times beaccountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, andefficiency, act with patriotism, and justice, and lead modest lives.

Public office is a public trust. It must be discharged by its holder not for his own personal gain but forthe benefit of the public for whom he holds it in trust. By demanding accountability and service withresponsibility, integrity, loyalty, efficiency, patriotism and justice, all government officials and

employees have the duty to be responsive to the needs of the people they are called upon to serve.

Public officers enjoy the presumption of regularity in the performance of their duties. This presumptionnecessarily obtains in favor of BIR and BOC officials and employees. RA 9335 operates on the basisthereof and reinforces it by providing a system of rewards and sanctions for the purpose ofencouraging the officials and employees of the BIR and the BOC to exceed their revenue targets andoptimize their revenue-generation capability and collection.15
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The presumption is disputable but proof to the contrary is required to rebut it. It cannot be overturnedby mere conjecture or denied in advance (as petitioners would have the Court do) specially in thiscase where it is an underlying principle to advance a declared public policy.

Petitioners claim that the implementation of RA 9335 will turn BIR and BOC officials and employeesinto "bounty hunters and mercenaries" is not only without any factual and legal basis; it is also purelyspeculative.

A law enacted by Congress enjoys the strong presumption of constitutionality. To justify itsnullification, there must be a clear and unequivocal breach of the Constitution, not a doubtful andequivocal one.16To invalidate RA 9335 based on petitioners baseless supposition is an affront to thewisdom not only of the legislature that passed it but also of the executive which approved it.

Public service is its own reward. Nevertheless, public officers may by law be rewarded for exemplaryand exceptional performance. A system of incentives for exceeding the set expectations of a publicoffice is not anathema to the concept of public accountability. In fact, it recognizes and reinforcesdedication to duty, industry, efficiency and loyalty to public service of deserving governmentpersonnel.

In United States v. Matthews,17the U.S. Supreme Court validated a law which awards to officers ofthe customs as well as other parties an amount not exceeding one-half of the net proceeds offorfeitures in violation of the laws against smuggling. Citing Dorsheimer v. United States,18the U.S.Supreme Court said:

The offer of a portion of such penalties to the collectors is to stimulate and reward their zealand industry in detecting fraudulent attempts to evade payment of duties and taxes.

In the same vein, employees of the BIR and the BOC may by law be entitled to a reward when, as aconsequence of their zeal in the enforcement of tax and customs laws, they exceed their revenuetargets. In addition, RA 9335 establishes safeguards to ensure that the reward will not be claimed if it

will be either the fruit of "bounty hunting or mercenary activity" or the product of the irregularperformance of official duties. One of these precautionary measures is embodied in Section 8 of thelaw:

SEC. 8. Liability of Officials, Examiners and Employees of the BIR and the BOC.Theofficials, examiners, and employees of the [BIR] and the [BOC] who violate this Act or who areguilty of negligence, abuses or acts of malfeasance or misfeasance or fail to exerciseextraordinary diligence in the performance of their duties shall be held liable for any loss orinjury suffered by any business establishment or taxpayer as a result of such violation,negligence, abuse, malfeasance, misfeasance or failure to exercise extraordinary diligence.

Equal Protection

Equality guaranteed under the equal protection clause is equality under the same conditions andamong persons similarly situated; it is equality among equals, not similarity of treatment of personswho are classified based on substantial differences in relation to the object to beaccomplished.

19When things or persons are different in fact or circumstance, they may be treated in

law differently. In Victoriano v. Elizalde Rope Workers Union,20

this Court declared:

The guaranty of equal protection of the laws is not a guaranty of equality in the application ofthe laws upon all citizens of the [S]tate. It is not, therefore, a requirement, in order to avoid theconstitutional prohibition against inequality, that every man, woman and child should be
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affected alike by a statute. Equality of operation of statutes does not mean indiscriminateoperation on persons merely as such, but on persons according to the circumstancessurrounding them. It guarantees equality, not identity of rights. The Constitution does notrequire that things which are different in fact be treated in law as though they were thesame. The equal protection clause does not forbid discrimination as to things that aredifferent. It does not prohibit legislation which is limited either in the object to which itis directed or by the territory within which it is to operate.

The equal protection of the laws clause of the Constitution allows classification. Classificationin law, as in the other departments of knowledge or practice, is the grouping of things inspeculation or practice because they agree with one another in certain particulars. A law is notinvalid because of simple inequality. The very idea of classification is that of inequality, so thatit goes without saying that the mere fact of inequality in no manner determines the matter ofconstitutionality. All that is required of a valid classification is that it be reasonable, whichmeans that the classification should be based on substantial distinctions which makefor real differences, that it must be germane to the purpose of the law; that it must notbe limited to existing conditions only; and that it must apply equally to each member ofthe class. This Court has held that the standard is satisfied if the classification ordistinction is based on a reasonable foundation or rational basis and is not palpably

arbitrary.

In the exercise of its power to make classifications for the purpose of enacting laws overmatters within its jurisdiction, the state is recognized as enjoying a wide range of discretion. Itis not necessary that the classification be based on scientific or marked differences of things orin their relation. Neither is it necessary that the classification be made with mathematicalnicety. Hence, legislative classification may in many cases properly rest on narrow distinctions,for the equal protection guaranty does not preclude the legislature from recognizing degrees ofevil or harm, and legislation is addressed to evils as they may appear.

21(emphasis supplied)

The equal protection clause recognizes a valid classification, that is, a classification that has a

reasonable foundation or rational basis and not arbitrary.22

With respect to RA 9335, its expressedpublic policy is the optimization of the revenue-generation capability and collection of the BIR and theBOC.23Since the subject of the law is the revenue- generation capability and collection of the BIRand the BOC, the incentives and/or sanctions provided in the law should logically pertain to the saidagencies. Moreover, the law concerns only the BIR and the BOC because they have the commondistinct primary function of generating revenues for the national government through the collection oftaxes, customs duties, fees and charges.

The BIR performs the following functions:

Sec. 18. The Bureau of Internal Revenue. The Bureau of Internal Revenue, which shall be

headed by and subject to the supervision and control of the Commissioner of InternalRevenue, who shall be appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the Secretary[of the DOF], shall have the following functions:

(1) Assess and collect all taxes, fees and charges and account for all revenuescollected;

(2) Exercise duly delegated police powers for the proper performance of its functions andduties;

(3) Prevent and prosecute tax evasions and all other illegal economic activities;
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(4) Exercise supervision and control over its constituent and subordinate units; and

(5) Perform such other functions as may be provided by law.24

xxx xxx xxx (emphasis supplied)

On the other hand, the BOC has the following functions:

Sec. 23. The Bureau of Customs. The Bureau of Customs which shall be headed andsubject to the management and control of the Commissioner of Customs, who shall beappointed by the President upon the recommendation of the Secretary[of the DOF] andhereinafter referred to as Commissioner, shall have the following functions:

(1) Collect custom duties, taxes and the corresponding fees, charges and penalties;

(2) Account for all customs revenues collected;

(3) Exercise police authority for the enforcement of tariff and customs laws;

(4) Prevent and suppress smuggling, pilferage and all other economic frauds within all ports ofentry;

(5) Supervise and control exports, imports, foreign mails and the clearance of vessels andaircrafts in all ports of entry;

(6) Administer all legal requirements that are appropriate;

(7) Prevent and prosecute smuggling and other illegal activities in all ports under itsjurisdiction;

(8) Exercise supervision and control over its constituent units;

(9) Perform such other functions as may be provided by law.25


Both the BIR and the BOC are bureaus under the DOF. They principally perform the special functionof being the instrumentalities through which the State exercises one of its great inherent functions taxation. Indubitably, such substantial distinction is germane and intimately related to the purpose ofthe law. Hence, the classification and treatment accorded to the BIR and the BOC under RA 9335fully satisfy the demands of equal protection.

Undue Delegation

Two tests determine the validity of delegation of legislative power: (1) the completeness test and (2)the sufficient standard test. A law is complete when it sets forth therein the policy to be executed,carried out or implemented by the delegate.26It lays down a sufficient standard when it providesadequate guidelines or limitations in the law to map out the boundaries of the delegates authority andprevent the delegation from running riot.

27To be sufficient, the standard must specify the limits of the

delegates authority, announce the legislative policy and identify the conditions under which it is to beimplemented.28
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RA 9335 adequately states the policy and standards to guide the President in fixing revenue targetsand the implementing agencies in carrying out the provisions of the law. Section 2 spells out thepolicy of the law:

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. It is the policy of the State to optimize the revenue-generationcapability and collection of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs(BOC) by providing for a system of rewards and sanctions through the creation of a Rewardsand Incentives Fund and a Revenue Performance Evaluation Board in the above agencies for

the purpose of encouraging their officials and employees to exceed their revenue targets.

Section 4 "canalized within banks that keep it from overflowing"29the delegated power to thePresident to fix revenue targets:

SEC. 4. Rewards and Incentives Fund. A Rewards and Incentives Fund, hereinafter referredto as the Fund, is hereby created, to be sourced from the collection of the BIR and the BOC inexcess oftheir respective revenue targets of the year, as determined by theDevelopment Budget and Coordinating Committee (DBCC), in the following percentages:

Excess of Collection of the

Excess the Revenue Targets

Percent (%) of the Excess Collection to

Accrue to the Fund30% or below 15%

More than 30% 15% of the first 30% plus 20% of theremaining excess

The Fund shall be deemed automatically appropriated the year immediately following the yearwhen the revenue collection target was exceeded and shall be released on the same fiscalyear.

Revenue targets shall refer to the original estimated revenue collection expected of theBIR and the BOC for a given fiscal year as stated in the Budget of Expenditures and

Sources of Financing (BESF) submitted by the President to Congress. The BIR and theBOC shall submit to the DBCC the distribution of the agencies revenue targets as allocatedamong its revenue districts in the case of the BIR, and the collection districts in the case of theBOC.


Revenue targets are based on the original estimated revenue collection expected respectively of theBIR and the BOC for a given fiscal year as approved by the DBCC and stated in the BESF submittedby the President to Congress.

30Thus, the determination of revenue targets does not rest solely on the

President as it also undergoes the scrutiny of the DBCC.

On the other hand, Section 7 specifies the limits of the Boards authority and identifies the conditionsunder which officials and employees whose revenue collection falls short of the target by at least7.5% may be removed from the service:

SEC. 7. Powers and Functions of the Board.The Board in the agency shall have thefollowing powers and functions:

xxx xxx xxx
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(b) To set the criteria and procedures forremoving from service officials and employeeswhose revenue collection falls short of the target by at least seven and a half percent(7.5%), with due consideration of all relevant factors affecting the level of collection asprovided in the rules and regulations promulgated under this Act, subject to civil servicelaws, rules and regulations and compliance with substantive and procedural dueprocess: Provided, That the following exemptions shall apply:

1. Where the district or area of responsibility is newly-created, not exceeding two years

in operation, as has no historical record of collection performance that can be used asbasis for evaluation; and

2. Where the revenue or customs official or employee is a recent transferee in themiddle of the period under consideration unless the transfer was due tononperformance of revenue targets or potential nonperformance of revenue targets:Provided, however, That when the district or area of responsibility covered by revenueor customs officials or employees has suffered from economic difficulties brought aboutby natural calamities orforce majeure or economic causes as may be determined bythe Board, termination shall be considered only after careful and proper review by theBoard.

(c) To terminate personnel in accordance with the criteria adopted in the preceding paragraph:Provided, That such decision shall be immediately executory: Provided, further, That theapplication of the criteria for the separation of an official or employee from serviceunder this Act shall be without prejudice to the application of other relevant laws onaccountability of public officers and employees, such as the Code of Conduct andEthical Standards of Public Officers and Employees and the Anti-Graft and CorruptPractices Act;


Clearly, RA 9335 in no way violates the security of tenure of officials and employees of the BIR andthe BOC. The guarantee of security of tenure only means that an employee cannot be dismissed fromthe service for causes other than those provided by law and only after due process is accorded theemployee.31In the case of RA 9335, it lays down a reasonable yardstick for removal (when therevenue collection falls short of the target by at least 7.5%) with due consideration of all relevantfactors affecting the level of collection. This standard is analogous to inefficiency and incompetence inthe performance of official duties, a ground for disciplinary action under civil service laws.32Theaction for removal is also subject to civil service laws, rules and regulations and compliance withsubstantive and procedural due process.

At any rate, this Court has recognized the following as sufficient standards: "public interest," "justice

and equity," "public convenience and welfare" and "simplicity, economy and welfare."33

In this case,the declared policy of optimization of the revenue-generation capability and collection of the BIR andthe BOC is infused with public interest.

Separation Of Powers

Section 12 of RA 9335 provides:

SEC. 12. Joint Congressional Oversight Committee. There is hereby created a JointCongressional Oversight Committee composed of seven Members from the Senate and sevenMembers from the House of Representatives. The Members from the Senate shall be
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appointed by the Senate President, with at least two senators representing the minority. TheMembers from the House of Representatives shall be appointed by the Speaker with at leasttwo members representing the minority. After the Oversight Committee will have approved theimplementing rules and regulations (IRR) it shall thereafter become functus officio andtherefore cease to exist.

The Joint Congressional Oversight Committee in RA 9335 was created for the purpose of approvingthe implementing rules and regulations (IRR) formulated by the DOF, DBM, NEDA, BIR, BOC and

CSC. On May 22, 2006, it approved the said IRR. From then on, it became functus officio and ceasedto exist. Hence, the issue of its alleged encroachment on the executive function of implementing andenforcing the law may be considered moot and academic.

This notwithstanding, this might be as good a time as any for the Court to confront the issue of theconstitutionality of the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee created under RA 9335 (or othersimilar laws for that matter).

The scholarly discourse of Mr. Justice (now Chief Justice) Puno on the concept of congressionaloversightin Macalintal v. Commission on Elections34is illuminating:

Concept and bases of congressional oversight

Broadly defined, the power of oversight embraces all activities undertaken by Congressto enhance its understanding of and influence over the implementat ionof legislation ithas enacted. Clearly, oversight concerns post-enactment measures undertaken byCongress: (a) to monitor bureaucratic compliance with program objectives, (b) todetermine whether agencies are properly administered, (c) to eliminate executive wasteand dishonesty, (d) to prevent executive usurpation of legislative authority, and (d) toassess executive conformity with the congressional perception of public interest.

The power of oversight has been held to be intrinsic in the grant of legislative power itself and

integral to the checks and balances inherent in a democratic system of government. x x x x x xx x x

Over the years, Congress has invoked its oversight power with increased frequency to checkthe perceived "exponential accumulation of power" by the executive branch. By the beginningof the 20th century, Congress has delegated an enormous amount of legislative authority to theexecutive branch and the administrative agencies. Congress, thus, uses its oversight power tomake sure that the administrative agencies perform their functions within the authoritydelegated to them. x x x x x x x x x

Categories of congressional oversight functions

The acts done by Congress purportedly in the exercise of its oversight powers may be dividedintothree categories, namely: scrutiny, investigation and supervision.

a. Scrutiny

Congressional scrutinyimplies a lesser intensity and continuity of attention toadministrative operations. Its primary purpose is to determine economy and efficiency ofthe operation of government activities. In the exercise of legislative scrutiny, Congressmay request information and report from the other branches of government. It can giverecommendations or pass resolutions for consideration of the agency involved.
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xxx xxx xxx

b. Congressional investigation

While congressional scrutiny is regarded as a passive process of looking at the factsthat are readily available, congressional investigation involves a more intense digging offacts. The power of Congress to conduct investigation is recognized by the 1987Constitution under section 21, Article VI, xxx xxx xxx

c. Legislative supervision

The third and most encompassingform by which Congress exercises its oversight power isthru legislative supervision. "Supervision" connotes a continuing and informed awareness onthe part of a congressional committee regarding executive operations in a given administrativearea. While both congressional scrutiny and investigation involve inquiry into past executivebranch actions in order to influence future executive branch performance, congressionalsupervision allows Congress to scrutinize the exercise of delegated law-making authority, and

permits Congress to retain part of that delegated authority.

Congress exercises supervision over the executive agencies through its veto power. It typicallyutilizes veto provisions when granting the President or an executive agency the power to

promulgate regulations with the force of law. These provisions require the President or anagency to present the proposed regulations to Congress, which retains a "right" to approve ordisapprove any regulation before it takes effect. Such legislative veto provisions usuallyprovide that a proposed regulation will become a law after the expiration of a certain period oftime, only if Congress does not affirmatively disapprove of the regulation in the meantime.Less frequently, the statute provides that a proposed regulation will become law if Congressaffirmatively approves it.

Supporters of legislative veto stress that it is necessary to maintain the balance of power

between the legislative and the executive branches of government as it offers lawmakers away to delegate vast power to the executive branch or to independent agencies while retainingthe option to cancel particular exercise of such power without having to pass new legislation orto repeal existing law. They contend that this arrangement promotes democratic accountabilityas it provides legislative check on the activities of unelected administrative agencies. Oneproponent thus explains:

It is too late to debate the merits of this delegation policy: the policy is too deeplyembedded in our law and practice. It suffices to say that the complexities of moderngovernment have often led Congress-whether by actual or perceived necessity- tolegislate by declaring broad policy goals and general statutory standards, leaving the

choice of policy options to the discretion of an executive officer. Congress articulateslegislative aims, but leaves their implementation to the judgment of parties who may ormay not have participated in or agreed with the development of those aims.Consequently, absent safeguards, in many instances the reverse of our constitutionalscheme could be effected: Congress proposes, the Executive disposes. One safeguard,of course, is the legislative power to enact new legislation or to change existing law. Butwithout some means of overseeing post enactment activities of the executive branch,Congress would be unable to determine whether its policies have been implemented inaccordance with legislative intent and thus whether legislative intervention isappropriate.


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Its opponents, however, criticize the legislative veto as undue encroachment upon theexecutive prerogatives. They urge that any post-enactment measures undertaken by thelegislative branch should be limited to scrutiny and investigation; any measure beyondthat would undermine the separation of powers guaranteed by the Constitution. Theycontend that legislative veto constitutes an impermissible evasion of the Presidents vetoauthority and intrusion into the powers vested in the executive or judicial branches ofgovernment. Proponents counter that legislative veto enhances separation of powers as itprevents the executive branch and independent agencies from accumulating too much power.

They submit that reporting requirements and congressional committee investigations allowCongress to scrutinize only the exercise of delegated law-making authority. They do not allowCongress to review executive proposals before they take effect and they do not afford theopportunity for ongoing and binding expressions of congressional intent. In contrast, legislativeveto permits Congress to participate prospectively in the approval or disapproval of"subordinate law" or those enacted by the executive branch pursuant to a delegation ofauthority by Congress. They further argue that legislative veto "is a necessary response byCongress to the accretion of policy control by forces outside its chambers." In an era ofdelegated authority, they point out that legislative veto "is the most efficient means Congresshas yet devised to retain control over the evolution and implementation of its policy as declaredby statute."

In Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha, the U.S. Supreme Court resolved thevalidity of legislative veto provisions. The case arose from the order of the immigration

judge suspending the deportation of Chadha pursuant to 244(c)(1) of the Immigration andNationality Act. The United States House of Representatives passed a resolution vetoing thesuspension pursuant to 244(c)(2) authorizing either House of Congress, by resolution, toinvalidate the decision of the executive branch to allow a particular deportable alien to remainin the United States. The immigration judge reopened the deportation proceedings toimplement the House order and the alien was ordered deported. The Board of Immigration

Appeals dismissed the aliens appeal, holding that it had no power to declare unconstitutionalan act of Congress. The United States Court of Appeals for Ninth Circuit held that the House

was without constitutional authority to order the aliens deportation and that 244(c)(2)violated the constitutional doctrine on separation of powers.

On appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court declared 244(c)(2) unconstitutional. But the Courtshied away from the issue of separation of powers and instead held that the provisionviolates the presentment clause and bicameralism. It held that the one-house veto wasessentially legislative in purpose and effect. As such, it is subject to the procedures set out in

Article I of the Constitution requiring the passage by a majority of both Houses andpresentment to the President. x x x x x x x x x

Two weeks after the Chadha decision, the Court upheld, in memorandum decision, two lower

court decisions invalidating the legislative veto provisions in the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978and the Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act of 1980. Following this precedence,lower courts invalidated statutes containing legislative veto provisions although some of theseprovisions required the approval of both Houses of Congress and thus met the bicameralismrequirement of Article I. Indeed, some of these veto provisions were not evenexercised.

35(emphasis supplied)

In Macalintal, given the concept and configuration of the power of congressional oversight andconsidering the nature and powers of a constitutional body like the Commission on Elections, theCourt struck down the provision in RA 9189 (The Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003) creating aJoint Congressional Committee. The committee was tasked not only to monitor and evaluate the
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implementation of the said law but also to review, revise, amend and approve the IRR promulgatedby the Commission on Elections. The Court held that these functions infringed on the constitutionalindependence of the Commission on Elections.36

With this backdrop, it is clear that congressional oversight is not unconstitutional per se, meaning, itneither necessarily constitutes an encroachment on the executive power to implement laws norundermines the constitutional separation of powers. Rather, it is integral to the checks and balancesinherent in a democratic system of government. It may in fact even enhance the separation of powers

as it prevents the over-accumulation of power in the executive branch.

However, to forestall the danger of congressional encroachment "beyond the legislative sphere," theConstitution imposes two basic and related constraints on Congress.37It may not vest itself, any of itscommittees or its members with either executive or judicial power.

38And, when it exercises its

legislative power, it must follow the "single, finely wrought and exhaustively considered, procedures"specified under the Constitution,39including the procedure for enactment of laws and presentment.

Thus, any post-enactment congressional measure such as this should be limited to scrutiny andinvestigation. In particular, congressional oversight must be confined to the following:

(1) scrutiny based primarily on Congress power of appropriation and the budget hearingsconducted in connection with it, its power to ask heads of departments to appear before andbe heard by either of its Houses on any matter pertaining to their departments and its power ofconfirmation

40and

(2) investigation and monitoring41

of the implementation of laws pursuant to the power ofCongress to conduct inquiries in aid of legislation.

42

Any action or step beyond that will undermine the separation of powers guaranteed by theConstitution. Legislative vetoes fall in this class.

Legislative veto is a statutory provision requiring the President or an administrative agency to presentthe proposed implementing rules and regulations of a law to Congress which, by itself or through acommittee formed by it, retains a "right" or "power" to approve or disapprove such regulations beforethey take effect. As such, a legislative veto in the form of a congressional oversight committee is inthe form of an inward-turning delegation designed to attach a congressional leash (other than throughscrutiny and investigation) to an agency to which Congress has by law initially delegated broadpowers.43It radically changes the design or structure of the Constitutions diagram of power as itentrusts to Congress a direct role in enforcing, applying or implementing its own laws.

44

Congress has two options when enacting legislation to define national policy within the broadhorizons of its legislative competence.

45It can itself formulate the details or it can assign to the

executive branch the responsibility for making necessary managerial decisions in conformity withthose standards.46In the latter case, the law must be complete in all its essential terms andconditions when it leaves the hands of the legislature.

47Thus, what is left for the executive branch or

the concerned administrative agency when it formulates rules and regulations implementing the law isto fill up details (supplementary rule-making) or ascertain facts necessary to bring the law into actualoperation (contingent rule-making).48

Administrative regulations enacted by administrative agencies to implement and interpret the lawwhich they are entrusted to enforce have the force of law and are entitled to respect .

49Such rules and

regulations partake of the nature of a statute50

and are just as binding as if they have been written inthe statute itself. As such, they have the force and effect of law and enjoy the presumption of
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constitutionality and legality until they are set aside with finality in an appropriate case by a competentcourt.51Congress, in the guise of assuming the role of an overseer, may not pass upon their legalityby subjecting them to its stamp of approval without disturbing the calculated balance of powersestablished by the Constitution. In exercising discretion to approve or disapprove the IRR based on adetermination of whether or not they conformed with the provisions of RA 9335, Congress arrogated

judicial power unto itself, a power exclusively vested in this Court by the Constitution.

Considered Opinion of

Mr. Justice Dante O. Tinga

Moreover, the requirement that the implementing rules of a law be subjected to approval by Congressas a condition for their effectivity violates the cardinal constitutional principles of bicameralism and therule on presentment.

52

Section 1, Article VI of the Constitution states:

Section 1. The legislative power shall be vested in the Congress of the Philippines whichshall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives, except to the extent reserved tothe people by the provision on initiative and referendum. (emphasis supplied)

Legislative power (or the power to propose, enact, amend and repeal laws)53is vested in Congresswhich consists of two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives. A valid exercise oflegislative power requires the act of both chambers. Corrollarily, it can be exercised neither solely byone of the two chambers nor by a committee of either or both chambers. Thus, assuming the validityof a legislative veto, both a single-chamber legislative veto and a congressional committee legislativeveto are invalid.

Additionally, Section 27(1), Article VI of the Constitution provides:

Section 27. (1) Every bill passed by the Congress shall, before it becomes a law, be

presented to the President. If he approves the same, he shall sign it, otherwise, he shall vetoit and return the same with his objections to the House where it originated, which shall enterthe objections at large in its Journal and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration,two-thirds of all the Members of such House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent,together with the objections, to the other House by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, andif approved by two-thirds of all the Members of that House, it shall become a law. In all suchcases, the votes of each House shall be determined by yeas ornays, and the names of themembers voting for or against shall be entered in its Journal. The President shall communicatehis veto of any bill to the House where it originated within thirty days after the date of receiptthereof; otherwise, it shall become a law as if he had signed it. (emphasis supplied)

Every bill passed by Congress must be presented to the President for approval or veto. In theabsence of presentment to the President, no bill passed by Congress can become a law. In thissense, law-making under the Constitution is a joint act of the Legislature and of the Executive.

Assuming that legislative veto is a valid legislative act with the force of law, it cannot take effectwithout such presentment even if approved by both chambers of Congress.

In sum, two steps are required before a bill becomes a law. First, it must be approved by both Housesof Congress.54Second, it must be presented to and approved by the President.55As summarized byJustice Isagani Cruz

56and Fr. Joaquin G. Bernas, S.J.

57, the following is the procedure for the

approval of bills:
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A bill is introduced by any member of the House of Representatives or the Senate except forsome measures that must originate only in the former chamber.

The first reading involves only a reading of the number and title of the measure and its referralby the Senate President or the Speaker to the proper committee for study.

The bill may be "killed" in the committee or it may be recommended for approval, with orwithout amendments, sometimes after public hearings are first held thereon. If there are other

bills of the same nature or purpose, they may all be consolidated into one bill under commonauthorship or as a committee bill.

Once reported out, the bill shall be calendared for second reading. It is at this stage that the bilis read in its entirety, scrutinized, debated upon and amended when desired. The secondreading is the most important stage in the passage of a bill.

The bill as approved on second reading is printed in its final form and copies thereof aredistributed at least three days before the third reading. On the third reading, the membersmerely register their votes and explain them if they are allowed by the rules. No further debateis allowed.

Once the bill passes third reading, it is sent to the other chamber, where it will also undergothe three readings. If there are differences between the versions approved by the twochambers, a conference committee58representing both Houses will draft a compromisemeasure that if ratified by the Senate and the House of Representatives will then be submittedto the President for his consideration.

The bill is enrolled when printed as finally approved by the Congress, thereafter authenticatedwith the signatures of the Senate President, the Speaker, and the Secretaries of theirrespective chambers

59

The Presidents role in law-making.

The final step is submission to the President for approval. Once approved, it takes effect aslaw after the required publication.

60

Where Congress delegates the formulation of rules to implement the law it has enacted pursuant tosufficient standards established in the said law, the law must be complete in all its essential termsand conditions when it leaves the hands of the legislature. And it may be deemed to have left thehands of the legislature when it becomes effective because it is only upon effectivity of the statutethat legal rights and obligations become available to those entitled by the language of the statute.Subject to the indispensable requisite of publication under the due process clause,

61the

determination as to when a law takes effect is wholly the prerogative of Congress .62

As such, it is onlyupon its effectivity that a law may be executed and the executive branch acquires the duties andpowers to execute the said law. Before that point, the role of the executive branch, particularly of thePresident, is limited to approving or vetoing the law.63

From the moment the law becomes effective, any provision of law that empowers Congress or any ofits members to play any role in the implementation or enforcement of the law violates the principle ofseparation of powers and is thus unconstitutional. Under this principle, a provision that requiresCongress or its members to approve the implementing rules of a law after it has already taken effectshall be unconstitutional, as is a provision that allows Congress or its members to overturn any
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directive or ruling made by the members of the executive branch charged with the implementation ofthe law.

Following this rationale, Section 12 of RA 9335 should be struck down as unconstitutional. Whilethere may be similar provisions of other laws that may be invalidated for failure to pass this standard,the Court refrains from invalidating them wholesale but will do so at the proper time when anappropriate case assailing those provisions is brought before us.

64

The next question to be resolved is: what is the effect of the unconstitutionality of Section 12 of RA9335 on the other provisions of the law? Will it render the entire law unconstitutional? No.

Section 13 of RA 9335 provides:

SEC. 13. Separability Clause. If any provision of this Act is declared invalid by a competentcourt, the remainder of this Act or any provision not affected by such declaration of invalidityshall remain in force and effect.

In Tatad v. Secretary of the Department of Energy,65the Court laid down the following rules:

The general rule is that where part of a statute is void as repugnant to the Constitution, whileanother part is valid, the valid portion, if separable from the invalid, may stand and beenforced. The presence of a separability clause in a statute creates the presumption that thelegislature intended separability, rather than complete nullity of the statute. To justify thisresult, the valid portion must be so far independent of the invalid portion that it is fair topresume that the legislature would have enacted it by itself if it had supposed that it could notconstitutionally enact the other. Enough must remain to make a complete, intelligible and validstatute, which carries out the legislative intent. x x x

Theexception to the general rule is that when the parts of a statute are so mutually dependentand connected, as conditions, considerations, inducements, or compensations for each other,

as to warrant a belief that the legislature intended them as a whole, the nullity of one part willvitiate the rest. In making the parts of the statute dependent, conditional, or connected withone another, the legislature intended the statute to be carried out as a whole and would nothave enacted it if one part is void, in which case if some parts are unconstitutional, all the otherprovisions thus dependent, conditional, or connected must fall with them.

The separability clause of RA 9335 reveals the intention of the legislature to isolate and detach anyinvalid provision from the other provisions so that the latter may continue in force and effect. The validportions can stand independently of the invalid section. Without Section 12, the remaining provisionsstill constitute a complete, intelligible and valid law which carries out the legislative intent to optimizethe revenue-generation capability and collection of the BIR and the BOC by providing for a system of

rewards and sanctions through the Rewards and Incentives Fund and a Revenue PerformanceEvaluation Board.

To be effective, administrative rules and regulations must be published in full if their purpose is toenforce or implement existing law pursuant to a valid delegation. The IRR of RA 9335 were publishedon May 30, 2006 in two newspapers of general circulation

66and became effective 15 days

thereafter.67Until and unless the contrary is shown, the IRR are presumed valid and effective evenwithout the approval of the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee.
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WHEREFORE, the petition is hereby PARTIALLY GRANTED. Section 12 of RA 9335 creating a

Joint Congressional Oversight Committee to approve the implementing rules and regulations of the

law is declared UNCONSTITUTIONAL and therefore NULL and VOID. The constitutionality of the

remaining provisions of RA 9335 is UPHELD. Pursuant to Section 13 of RA 9335, the rest of the

provisions remain in force and effect

BIRAOGO VS PTC

FACTS:

Pres. Aquino signed E. O. No. 1 establishing Philippine Truth Commission of 2010 (PTC) dated July 30,

2010.

PTC is a mere ad hoc body formed under the Office of the President with the primary task to investigate

reports of graft and corruption committed by third-level public officers and employees, their co-principals,

accomplices and accessories during the previous administration, and to submit its finding and

recommendations to the President, Congress and the Ombudsman. PTC has all the powers of an

investigative body. But it is not a quasi-judicial body as it cannot adjudicate, arbitrate, resolve, settle, or

render awards in disputes between contending parties. All it can do is gather, collect and assess evidence

of graft and corruption and make recommendations. It may have subpoena powers but it has no power to

cite people in contempt, much less order their arrest. Although it is a fact-finding body, it cannot

determine from such facts if probable cause exists as to warrant the filing of an information in our courts

of law.

Petitioners asked the Court to declare it unconstitutional and to enjoin the PTC from performing its

functions. They argued that:

(a) E.O. No. 1 violates separation of powers as it arrogates the power of the Congress to create a public

office and appropriate funds for its operation.

(b) The provision of Book III, Chapter 10, Section 31 of the Administrative Code of 1987 cannot legitimize

E.O. No. 1 because the delegated authority of the President to structurally reorganize the Office of the

President to achieve economy, simplicity and efficiency does not include the power to create an entirely

new public office which was hitherto inexistent like the Truth Commission.

(c) E.O. No. 1 illegally amended the Constitution and statutes when it vested the Truth Commission with

quasi-judicial powers duplicating, if not superseding, those of the Office of the Ombudsman created under

the 1987 Constitution and the DOJ created under the Administrative Code of 1987.

(d) E.O. No. 1 violates the equal protection clause as it selectively targets for investigation and

prosecution officials and personnel of the previous administration as if corruption is their peculiar species

even as it excludes those of the other administrations, past and present, who may be indictable.

Respondents, through OSG, questioned the legal standing of petitioners and argued that:

1] E.O. No. 1 does not arrogate the powers of Congress because the Presidents executive power and

power of control necessarily include the inherent power to conduct investigations to ensure that laws are

faithfully executed and that, in any event, the Constitution, Revised Administrative Code of 1987, PD No.

141616 (as amended), R.A. No. 9970 and settled jurisprudence, authorize the President to create or form

such bodies.


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2] E.O. No. 1 does not usurp the power of Congress to appropriate funds because there is no

appropriation but a mere allocation of funds already appropriated by Congress.

3] The Truth Commission does not duplicate or supersede the functions of the Ombudsman and the DOJ,

because it is a fact-finding body and not a quasi-judicial body and its functions do not duplicate, supplant

or erode the latters jurisdiction.

4] The Truth Commission does not violate the equal protection clause because it was validly created for

laudable purposes.

ISSUES:

1. WON the petitioners have legal standing to file the petitions and question E. O. No. 1;

2. WON E. O. No. 1 violates the principle of separation of powers by usurping the powers of Congress to

create and to appropriate funds for public offices, agencies and commissions;

3. WON E. O. No. 1 supplants the powers of the Ombudsman and the DOJ;

4. WON E. O. No. 1 violates the equal protection clause.

RULING:

The power of judicial review is subject to limitations, to wit: (1) there must be an actual case or

controversy calling for the exercise of judicial power; (2) the person challenging the act must have the

standing to question the validity of the subject act or issuance; otherwise stated, he must have a personal

and substantial interest in the case such that he has sustained, or will sustain, direct injury as a result ofits enforcement; (3) the question of constitutionality must be raised at the earliest opportunity; and (4)

the issue of constitutionality must be the very lis mota of the case.

1. The petition primarily invokes usurpation of the power of the Congress as a body to which they belong

as members. To the extent the powers of Congress are impaired, so is the power of each member thereof,

since his office confers a right to participate in the exercise of the powers of that institution.

Legislators have a legal standing to see to it that the prerogative, powers and privileges vested by the

Constitution in their office remain inviolate. Thus, they are allowed to question the validity of any official

action which, to their mind, infringes on their prerogatives as legislators.

With regard to Biraogo, he has not shown that he sustained, or is in danger of sustaining, any personal

and direct injury attributable to the implementation of E. O. No. 1.

Locus standi is a right of appearance in a court of justice on a given question. In private suits, standing

is governed by the real-parties-in interest rule. It provides that every action must be prosecuted or

defended in the name of the real party in interest. Real-party-in interest is the party who stands to be

benefited or injured by the judgment in the suit or the party entitled to the avails of the suit.

Difficulty of determining locus standi arises in public suits. Here, the plaintiff who asserts a public right

in assailing an allegedly illegal official action, does so as a representative of the general public. He has to

show that he is entitled to seek judicial protection. He has to make out a sufficient interest in the

vindication of the public order and the securing of relief as a citizen or taxpayer.

The person who impugns the validity of a statute must have a personal and substantial interest in the

case such that he has sustained, or will sustain direct injury as a result. The Court, however, finds reason

in Biraogos assertion that the petition covers matters of transcendental importance to justify the exercise

of jurisdiction by the Court. There are constitutional issues in the petition which deserve the attention of

this Court in view of their seriousness, novelty and weight as precedents

The Executive is given much leeway in ensuring that our laws are faithfully executed. The powers of the

President are not limited to those specific powers under the Constitution. One of the recognized powers of

the President granted pursuant to this constitutionally-mandated duty is the power to create ad hoc

committees. This flows from the obvious need to ascertain facts and determine if laws have been faithfully


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executed. The purpose of allowing ad hoc investigating bodies to exist is to allow an inquiry into matters

which the President is entitled to know so that he can be properly advised and guided in the performance

of his duties relative to the execution and enforcement of the laws of the land.

2. There will be no appropriation but only an allotment or allocations of existing funds already

appropriated. There is no usurpation on the part of the Executive of the power of Congress to appropriate

funds. There is no need to specify the amount to be earmarked for the operation of the commission

because, whatever funds the Congress has provided for the Office of the President will be the very source

of the funds for the commission. The amount that would be allocated to the PTC shall be subject toexisting auditing rules and regulations so there is no impropriety in the funding.

3. PTC will not supplant the Ombudsman or the DOJ or erode their respective powers. If at all, the

investigative function of the commission will complement those of the two offices. The function of

determining probable cause for the filing of the appropriate complaints before the courts remains to be

with the DOJ and the Ombudsman. PTCs power to investigate is limited to obtaining facts so that it can

advise and guide the President in the performance of his duties relative to the execution and enforcement

of the laws of the land.

4. Court finds difficulty in upholding the constitutionality of Executive Order No. 1 in view of its apparent

transgression of the equal protection clause enshrined in Section 1, Article III (Bill of Rights) of the 1987

Constitution.

Equal protection requires that all persons or things similarly situated should be treated alike, both as to

rights conferred and responsibilities imposed. It requires public bodies and institutions to treat similarly

situated individuals in a similar manner. The purpose of the equal protection clause is to secure every

person within a states jurisdiction against intentional and arbitrary discrimination, whether occasioned by

the express terms of a statue or by its improper execution through the states duly constituted authorities.

There must be equality among equals as determined according to a valid classification. Equal protection

clause permits classification. Such classification, however, to be valid must pass the test of

reasonableness. The test has four requisites: (1) The classification rests on substantial distinctions; (2) It

is germane to the purpose of the law; (3) It is not limited to existing conditions only; and (4) It applies

equally to all members of the same class.

The classification will be regarded as invalid if all the members of the class are not similarly treated, both

as to rights conferred and obligations imposed.

Executive Order No. 1 should be struck down as violative of the equal protection clause. The clear

mandate of truth commission is to investigate and find out the truth concerning the reported cases of

graft and corruption during the previous administration only. The intent to single out the previous

administration is plain, patent and manifest.

Arroyo administration is but just a member of a class, that is, a class of past administrations. It is not a

class of its own. Not to include past administrations similarly situated constitutes arbitrariness which theequal protection clause cannot sanction. Such discriminating differentiation clearly reverberates to label

the commission as a vehicle for vindictiveness and selective retribution. Superficial differences do not

make for a valid classification.

The PTC must not exclude the other past administrations. The PTC must, at least, have the authority to

investigate all past administrations.

The Constitution is the fundamental and paramount law of the nation to which all other laws must conform

and in accordance with which all private rights determined and all public authority administered. Laws that

do not conform to the Constitution should be stricken down for being unconstitutional.


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WHEREFORE, the petitions are GRANTED. Executive Order No. 1 is hereby declared UNCONSTITUTIONAL

insofar as it is violative of the equal protection clause of the Constitution

ATTY. ROMULO B. MACALINTAL vs. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORAL TRIBUNAL,

Confronting us is an undesignated petition[1]filed by Atty. Romulo B. Macalintal (Atty

Macalintal), that questions the constitution of the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) as an

illegal and unauthorized progeny of Section 4,[2]Article VII of the Constitution:

The Supreme Court, sitting en banc, shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to the

election, returns, and qualifications of the President or Vice-President, and may promulgate its rules for

the purpose.

We winnow the meanderings of petitioner into the singular issue of whether the constitution of the PET,

composed of the Members of this Court, is unconstitutional, and violates Section 4, Article VII and Section 12,Article VIII of the Constitution.

But first, we dispose of the procedural issue of whether petitioner has standing to file the present

petition.

The issue oflocus standiis derived from the following requisites of a judicial inquiry:

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 earliest possible opportunity; and4. The decision of the constitutional question must be necessary to the determination of the case

itself.[8]

On more than one occasion we have characterized a proper party as one who has sustained or is in immediate

danger of sustaining an injury as a result of the act complained of.[9]

The dust has long settled on the test laid

down in Baker v. Carr:[10]

whether the party has alleged such a personal stake in the outcome of the

controversy as to assure that concrete adverseness which sharpens the presentation of issues upon which the

court so largely depends for illumination of difficult questions.[11]

Until and unless such actual or threatened

injury is established, the complainant is not clothed with legal personality to raise the constitutional question.

Our pronouncements in David v. Macapagal-Arroyo[12] illuminate:

The difficulty of determining locus standiarises in public suits. Here, the plaintiff who asserts a public right

in assailing an allegedly illegal official action, does so as a representative of the general public. He may be a

person who is affected no differently from any other person. He could be suing as a stranger, or in the

category of a citizen, or taxpayer. In either case, he has to adequately show that he is entitled to seek

judicial protection. In other words, he has to make out a sufficient interest in the vindication of the public

order and the securing of relief as a citizen or taxpayer.
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x x x x

However, to prevent just about any person from seeking judicial interference in any official policy or act with

which he disagreed with, and thus hinders the activities of governmental agencies engaged in public service,

the United States Supreme Court laid down the more stringent direct injurytestin Ex Parte Levitt, later

reaffirmed in Tileston v. Ullman. The same Court ruled that for a private individual to invoke the judicial

power to determine the validity of an executive or legislative action, he must show that he has sustained a

direct injury as a result of that action, and it is not sufficient that he has a general interest common to all

members of the public.

This Court adopted the direct injurytestin our jurisdiction. In People v. Vera, it held that the person who

impugns the validity of a statute must have a personal and substantial interest in the case such that he has

sustained, or will sustain direct injury as a result. The Vera doctrine was upheld in a litany of cases, such

as, Custodio v. President of the Senate, Manila Race Horse Trainers Association v. De la Fuente, Pascual v.

Secretary of Public Works andAnti-Chinese League of the Philippines v. Felix.

However, being a mere procedural technicality, the requirement oflocus standimay be waived by the Court in

the exercise of its discretion. This was done in the 1949 Emergency Powers Cases,Araneta v. Dinglasan, where

the transcendental importance of the cases prompted the Court to act liberally. Such liberality was neithera rarity nor accidental. InAquino v. Comelec, this Court resolved to pass upon the issues raised due to the

far-reaching implications of the petition notwithstanding its categorical statement that petitioner therein

had no personality to file the suit. Indeed, there is a chain of cases where this liberal policy has been

observed, allowing ordinary citizens, members of Congress, and civic organizations to prosecute actions

involving the constitutionality or validity of laws, regulations and rulings.

x x x x

By way of summary, the following rules may be culled from the cases decided by this Court. Taxpayers,

voters, concerned citizens, and legislators may be accorded standing to sue, provided that the followingrequirements are met:

(1) cases involve constitutional issues;

(2) for taxpayers, there must be a claim of illegal disbursement of public funds or that the tax measure is

unconstitutional;

(3) for voters, there must be a showing of obvious interest in the validity of the election law in question;

(4) for concerned citizens, there must be a showing that the issues raised are of transcendental

importance which must be settled early; and

(5) for legislators, there must be a claim that the official action complained of infringes upon their

prerogatives as legislators.

Contrary to the well-settled actual and direct injury test, petitioner has simply alleged a generalized interest in

the outcome of this case, and succeeds only in muddling the issues. Paragraph 2 of the petition reads:


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2. x x x Since the creation and continued operation of the PET involves the use of public funds and the

issue raised herein is of transcendental importance, it is petitioners humble submission that, as a citizen, a

taxpayer and a member of the BAR, he has the legal standing to file this petition.

But even if his submission is valid, petitioners standing is still imperiled by the white elephant in the

petition, i.e., his appearance as counsel for former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (Macapagal-Arroyo) in

the election protest filed by 2004 presidential candidate Fernando Poe, Jr. before the Presidential Electoral

Tribunal,[13]

because judicial inquiry, as mentioned above, requires that the constitutional question be raised

at the earliest possible opportunity.[14]

Such appearance as counsel before the Tribunal, to our mind, would

have been the first opportunity to challenge the constitutionality of the Tribunals constitution.

Although there are recognized exceptions to this requisite, we find none in this instance. Petitioner is

unmistakably estopped from assailing the jurisdiction of the PET before which tribunal he had ubiquitously

appeared and had acknowledged its jurisdiction in 2004. His failure to raise a seasonable constitutional

challenge at that time, coupled with his unconditional acceptance of the Tribunals authority over the case he

was defending, translates to the clear absence of an indispensable requisite for the proper invocation of this

Courts power of judicial review. Even on this score alone, the petition ought to be dismissed outright.

Prior to petitioners appearance as counsel for then protestee Macapagal-Arroyo, we had occasion to

affirm the grant of original jurisdiction to this Court as a Presidential Electoral Tribunal in the auspicious case

ofTecson v. Commission on Elections.[15]

Thus

Petitioners Tecson, et al., in G.R. No. 161434, and Velez, in G.R. No. 161634, invoke the provisions of Article

VII, Section 4, paragraph 7, of the 1987 Constitution in assailing the jurisdiction of the COMELEC when it took

cognizance of SPA No. 04-003 and in urging the Supreme Court to instead take on the petitions they directly

instituted before it. The Constitutional provision cited reads:

"The Supreme Court, sitting en banc, shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns,and qualifications of the President or Vice-President, and may promulgate its rules for the purpose."

The provision is an innovation of the 1987 Constitution. The omission in the 1935 and the 1973 Constitution

to designate any tribunal to be the sole judge of presidential and vice-presidential contests, has constrained

this Court to declare, in Lopez vs. Roxas,as not (being) justiciable controversies or disputes involving

contests on the elections, returns and qualifications of the President or Vice-President. The constitutional

lapse prompted Congress, on 21 June 1957, to enact Republic Act No. 1793, "An Act Constituting an

Independent Presidential Electoral Tribunal to Try, Hear and Decide Protests Contesting the Election of the

President-Elect and the Vice-President-Elect of the Philippines and Providing for the Manner of Hearing the

Same." Republic Act 1793 designated the Chief Justice and the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court to be

the members of the tribunal. Although the subsequent adoption of the parliamentary form of government

under the 1973 Constitution might have implicitly affected Republic Act No. 1793, the statutory set-up,

nonetheless, would now be deemed revived under the present Section 4, paragraph 7, of the 1987

Constitution.

Former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno, in his separate opinion, was even more categorical:

The Court is unanimous on the issue of jurisdiction. It has no jurisdiction on the Tecson

and Valdez petitions. Petitioners cannot invoke Article VII, Section 4, par. 7 of the Constitution which

provides:
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The Supreme Court, sittingen banc shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns and

qualifications of the President or Vice President and may promulgate its rules for the purpose.

The word contest in the provision means that the jurisdiction of this Court can only be invoked after the

election and proclamation of a President or Vice President. There can be no contest before a winner is

proclaimed.[16]

Similarly, in her separate opinion, Justice Alicia Austria-Martinez declared:

G.R. Nos. 161434 and 161634 invoke the Courts exclusive jurisdiction under the last paragraph of Section 4,

Article VII of the 1987 Constitution. I agree with the majority opinion that these petitions should be dismissed

outright for prematurity. The Court has no jurisdiction at this point of time to entertain said petitions.

The Supreme Court, as a Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) and House of

Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) are electoral tribunals, each specifically and exclusively clothed with

jurisdiction by the Constitution to act respectively as sole judge of all contests relating to the election,

returns, and qualifications of the President and Vice-President, Senators, and Representatives. In a litany of

cases, this Court has long recognized that these electoral tribunals exercise jurisdiction over election contests

only after a candidate has already been proclaimed winner in an election. Rules 14 and 15 of the Rules of the

Presidential Electoral Tribunal provi

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