IN RELATION TO:

SEPARATION OF POWERS (Section 12, Art. VIII, Constitution)

CASE:

In Re: Designation of JUDGE RODOLFO U. MANZANO as Member of the Ilocos Norte Provincial
Committee On Justice

FACTS

Judge Rodolfo U. Manzano, Executive Judge, RTC, Ilocos Norte, sent a letter to the Chief Justice of
Supreme Court informing the latter that he was designated by Provincial Governor of Ilocos Norte,
Rodolfo Farinas, as a member of the Ilocos Norte Provincial Committee on Justice pursuant to
Presidential EO No. 856, as amended by EO No. 326. In the letter, he also requested the issuance of
a Resolution by the Supreme Court, stating the following:

1.

That he is authorized to accept the appointment and to as assume and discharge the powers and
duties attached to the said position.

2.

That his membership in the Committee as neither violative of the Independence of the Judiciary
nor a violation of Section 12, Article VIII, or of the second paragraph of Section 7, Article IX (B),
both of the Constitution, and will not amount to an abandonment of his present position as
Executive Judge, and as a member of the Judiciary;

3.

That his membership in the said Committee is considered as part of the primary functions of an
Executive Judge.

ISSUE

WON judicial officers are allowed to be appointed to positions performing administrative functions

RULING

No. Request of Judge Rodolfo U. Manzano is DENIED. His membership in the Ilocos Norte Provincial
Committee on Justice will be in violation of the Constitution because he will discharge administrative
functions. Under the Constitution, the members of the Supreme Court and other courts established by
law shall not be designated to any agency performing quasi- judicial or administrative functions
(Section 12, Art. VIII, Constitution).

Executive Order No. 856, as amended, reveals that Provincial/City Committees on Justice are created
to insure the speedy disposition of cases of detainees, particularly those involving the poor and
indigent ones, thus alleviating jail congestion and improving local jail conditions.

Such Provincial/City Committees on Justice perform administrative functions:

Note: Administrative functions are those which involve the regulation and control over the conduct and affairs of individuals for
their own welfare and the promulgation of rules and regulations to better carry out the policy of the legislature or such as are
devolved upon the administrative agency by the organic law of its existence.

Receive complaints against any apprehending officer, jail warden, final or judge who may be found
to have committed abuses in the discharge of his duties and refer the same to proper authority for
appropriate action;

Recommend revision of any law or regulation which is believed prejudicial to the proper
administration of criminal justice.

Furthermore, under Executive Order No. 326 amending Executive Order No. 856, it is provided that
o

Section 6. Supervision.The Provincial/City Committees on Justice shall be under the supervision

of the Secretary of justice Quarterly accomplishment reports shall be submitted to the Office of the
Secretary of Justice.

Even as non-members of Provincial/City Committees on Justice, RTC judges should render assistance
to said Committees to help promote the laudable purposes for which they exist, but only when such
assistance may be reasonably incidental to the fulfillment of their judicial duties.

RATIO

Former Chief Justice Fernando in his concurring opinion in the case of Garcia vs. Macaraig sets forth:
o

While the doctrine of separation of powers is a relative theory not to be enforced with pedantic
rigor, the practical demands of government precluding its doctrinaire application, it cannot justify a
member of the judiciary being required to assume a position or perform a duty non-judicial in
character. That is implicit in the principle. Otherwise there is a plain departure from its command.
The essence of the trust reposed in him is to decide. Only a higher court, as was emphasized by
Justice Barredo, can pass on his actuation. He is not a subordinate of an executive or legislative
official, however eminent. It is indispensable that there be no exception to the rigidity of such a
norm if he is, as expected, to be confined to the task of adjudication. Fidelity to his sworn
responsibility no less than the maintenance of respect for the judiciary can be satisfied with
nothing less.

Note: Administrative functions are those which involve the regulation and control over the conduct and affairs of individuals for
their own welfare and the promulgation of rules and regulations to better carry out the policy of the legislature or such as are
devolved upon the administrative agency by the organic law of its existence.