ARTICLE VI.

THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT

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

LEGISLATIVE POWER
- it is the authority to make and to alter and repeal them.

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE GRANT OF LEGISLATIVE POWER

1. It cannot pass irrepealable laws
The Congress CANNOT PASS IRREPEALABLE LAWS. The power of present and future legislature
must remain plenary. When one legislature attempts to pass an irrepealable law, to the extent it attempts to
limit the power of future legislatures. The power of any legislature can be limited only by the Constitution.

2. Principle of separation of powers.

The PRINCIPLE OF SEPARATION OF POWERS is intended to prevent a concentration of authority
in one person or group of persons that might lead to an irreversible error or abuse in its exercise to the
detriment of our republican institutions. This is to secure action to forestall overaction, to prevent
despotism and to obtain efficiency.
To achieve the above purpose:
The LEGISLATURE is generally limited to the enactment of laws and may not enforce or apply them.
The EXECUTIVE is limited to the enforcement of laws and may not enact or apply them.
The JUDICIARY is limited to the application of laws and may not enact or enforce them.

There are instances under the Constitution when powers are not confined exclusively within one department but
are in fact assigned to or shared by several departments. There is BLENDING POWERS.
Illustration:
1. The power of appointment, which can rightfully be exercised by each department over its own
administrative personnel.
2. Enactment of the general appropriations law, which begins with the preparation by the President of the
budget, which becomes the basis of the bill adopted by the Congress and subsequently submitted to the
President, who may then approve it.
3. The grant of amnesty by the President which requires the concurrence of a majority of all the members of
the Congress.
4. The Commission on Elections does not alone deputize law enforcement agencies and instrumentalities of
the government for the purpose of ensuring free, orderly, honest, peaceful, and credible elections but does
so with the consent of the President.

CHECKS AND BALANCES

- one department is allowed to resist encroachments upon its prerogatives or to rectify mistakes or
excesses committed by the other departments.
Illustrations:
1. The lawmaking power of the Congress is checked by the President through his veto power, which may
turn be overridden by the legislature.
2. The Congress may refuse to give its concurrence to an amnesty proclaimed by the President and the
Senate to the treaty he has concluded.
3. The President may nullify a conviction in a criminal case by pardoning the offender.
4. The Congress may limit the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and that of inferior courts and even abolish
the latter tribunals.
 5. The judiciary has the power to declare invalid an act done by the Congress, the President and subordinates,
or the Constitutional Commission.
3. Non-delegability of legislative powers
POTESTA DELEGATA NON DELEGARI POTEST (What has been delegated cannot be delegated.)

May Congress delegate its legislative power?

No. Legislative power must remain where the people have lodged it. However, there are exceptions to this
rule - PERMISSIBLE DELEGATION (TEPAL)
a) Delegation of Tariff Powers to the President (Section 28 (2), Article VI)
b) Delegation of Emergency Powers to the President (Section 23 (2), Article VI)
c) Delegation to the People at large
d) Delegation to Local Government
e) Delegation to Administrative bodies

Delegation to local government

The reason behind this delegation is because the local government is deemed to know better the needs of
the people therein.

PEOPLE VS. VERA, 65 Phil. 56

A law delegating to the local government units the power to fund the salary of probation officers in
their area is unconstitutional for violation of the equal protection of the laws. In areas where there is a
probation officer because the local government unit appropriated an amount for his salaries, convicts may
avail of probation while in places where no funds were set aside for probation officers, convicts therein
could not apply for probation.

Delegation of rule-making power to administrative bodies

What is the completeness test?

A law must be complete in itself in all its terms and provisions when it leaves the legislature so that nothing
is left to the judgment of the delegate. Otherwise,the statute is an unconstitutional delegation of power.
When is a statute considered complete?
A statute is complete when the subject, the manner, and the extent of its operation are therein stated. It is
for this reason that the legislative should clearly state the legislative policy to be implemented by the
delegate, who should implement the same, and the scope of authority to the delegate.
What is sufficiency of standard test?
A sufficient standard not only defines the policy fixed by the legislature but also marks its limits by
specifying the extent of the authority of the delegate as well as the conditions under which the said policy
should be implemented.
Without the said standard, there would be no means to determine with reasonable certainty, whether the
delegate has acted within or beyond the scope of his authority. When this happens, the power of legislation
will eventually be exercised by a branch of government other than that in which it is lodged by the
Constitution.

PELAEZ VS AUDITOR GENERAL, 15 SCRA 569

Former President Diosdado Macapagal issued executive Order under Section 68 of the Revised
Administrative Code, to create thirty-three (33) municipalities. Former Vice President Pelaez contends that
Section 68. as aforementioned is an undue delegation of power and said executive orders are therefore null
and void.
 Is section 68 of the Revised Administrative Code an undue delegation of power? Can the President of the
Philippines issue an executive order under Section 68 of the Revised Administrative Code and create
municipality?
SC: Section 68 of the Revised Administrative Code is not complete in itself as it does not state the
policy to be executed by the delegate, and neither does it fix a standard, the limits of which are sufficiently
determinate or determinable to which the delegate must conform.
It is true that the last clause of the said section provides that the President xxx may change the seat
government within any subdivision to such place therein as the public welfare may require, but the phrase
as the public welfare may require qualifies, not the clauses preceding the ones just quoted, but only the
place to which seat of the government may be transferred.
It is true that public welfare and public interest are sufficient standards of a valid delegation of
powers, but said cases involved grant to administrative officers of powers related to the exercise of the
administrative functions which is different from the nature of powers referred to in Section 68.
The authority to create municipalities is one which essentially legislative in character.

Note: Under Article VI, Section 24 of the 1987 Constitution, all xxx bills of local application shall
originate exclusively in the House of Representatives, but the Senate may propose or concur with
amendments. Section 24 provides as follows:
All appropriation, revenue, or tariff bills, authorizing increase of the public debt, bills of local
application, and private bills shall originate exclusively in the House of Representatives, but the Senate
may propose or concur with amendments.

The ruling in Pelaez vs Auditor General that the authority to create municipal corporations are
essentially legislative in character still applies.

US VS. ANG TANG HO, 43 Phil. 1

A law was enacted by the Philippines Legislature in 1919 which authorized the Governor General to
issue and promulgate temporary rules and measures to implement the purpose of the said law, also known
as Act 2868. The Governor General issued a proclamation fixing the price of rice and penalizing the
violation thereof. The purpose of the law is to regulate the sale and distribution of palay, rice, and corn,
particularly the monopoly, hoarding of, and speculation of said commodities.
The defendant who was prosecuted and convicted for selling price at higher than that fixed in
proclamation, appealed to the Supreme Court and questioned the validity of the said proclamation which
according to him, was issued pursuant to an unconstitutional delegation of power.

Is the contention of the accused tenable and its questioned law compete as legislation?

SC: The law is not complete as legislation and consequently there is an unconstitutional delegation of
powers for the following reasons:
1. The legislature said that the proclamation may be issued for cause and leaves the question of what is any
cause to the discretion of the Governor General;
2. The legislature did not define what is an extraordinary increase in the price of palay, rice, or other cereal
product, instead it was left to the discretion of the Governor General;
3. The law did not also specify or define what such temporary rules or emergency are or how long such
rules or emergency measures shall remain in force and effect or when they shall take effect. All these
were also left to the judgment and the discretion of the Governor General;
4. The Governor General cannot by proclamation determine what act shall constitute a crime or not.

May rules and regulations promulgated by administrative bodies/ agencies have the force of law? Penal
law? On order to be considered as one with the force and effect of a penal law, what conditions must
concur?
 Yes, provided that the following conditions occur: (1) The delegating statute itself must specifically
authorize the promulgation of penal regulations; (2) The penalty must not be left to the administrative
agency but must be provided by the statute itself; (3) The regulation must be published in the Official
Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation.
Delegation to the people (See Section 2(1) of Article XVII and Section 32, Article V1)
The Congress shall, as early as possible, provide a system of initiative and referendum and the exceptions
therefrom, whereby the people can directly propose and enact laws or approve or reject any act of law or
part thereof passed by the Congress of local legislative body after the registration of a petition thereof
signed by at least 10% of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district must be
represented by at least 3% of the registered voters thereof.