Pelaez vs Auditor General

undue delegation of legislative power

Caption: PELAEZ VS AUDITOR GENERAL

G.R. No. L-23825 15 SCRA 569 December 24, 1965

EMMANUEL PELAEZ, petitioner,

vs.
THE AUDITOR GENERAL, respondent.

Facts:

The President of the Philippines, purporting to act pursuant to Section 68 of

the Revised Administrative Code, issued Executive Orders Nos. 93 to 121,
124 and 126 to 129; creating thirty-three (33) municipalities enumerated
in the margin. Petitioner Emmanuel Pelaez, as Vice President of the
Philippines and as taxpayer, instituted the present special civil action, for a
writ of prohibition with preliminary injunction, against the Auditor General,
to restrain him, as well as his representatives and agents, from passing in
audit any expenditure of public funds in implementation of said executive
orders and/or any disbursement by said municipalities.

Petitioner alleges that said executive orders are null and void, upon the
ground that said Section 68 has been impliedly repealed by Republic Act No.
2370 effective January 1, 1960 and constitutes an undue delegation of
legislative power. The third paragraph of Section 3 of Republic Act No.
2370, reads: “Barrios shall not be created or their boundaries altered nor
their names changed except under the provisions of this Act or by Act of
Congress.”
Issues:

Whether or not Section 68 of Revised Administrative Code constitutes an

undue delegation of legislative power.

Discussions:

Section 10 (1) of Article VII of our fundamental law ordains:

The President shall have control of all the executive departments, bureaus, or
offices, exercise general supervision over all local governments as may be
provided by law, and take care that the laws be faithfully executed.

The power of control under this provision implies the right of the President
to interfere in the exercise of such discretion as may be vested by law in the
officers of the executive departments, bureaus, or offices of the national
government, as well as to act in lieu of such officers. This power is denied by
the Constitution to the Executive, insofar as local governments are
concerned. With respect to the latter, the fundamental law permits him to
wield no more authority than that of checking whether said local
governments or the officers thereof perform their duties as provided by
statutory enactments. Hence, the President cannot interfere with local
governments, so long as the same or its officers act within the scope of their
authority.

Rulings:

Yes. It did entail an undue delegation of legislative powers. The alleged power
of the President to create municipal corporations would necessarily connote
the exercise by him of an authority even greater than that of control which
he has over the executive departments, bureaus or offices. In other words,
Section 68 of the Revised Administrative Code does not merely fail to
comply with the constitutional mandate. Instead of giving the President less
power over local governments than that vested in him over the executive
departments, bureaus or offices, it reverses the process and does the exact
opposite, by conferring upon him more power over municipal corporations
than that which he has over said executive departments, bureaus or offices.

Case Digest: Emmanuel Pelaez vs. The Auditor General

FACTS:

From September 4, 1964 to October 29, 1964 the President of the

Philippines issued executive orders to create thirty-three municipalities
pursuant to Section 69 of the Revised Administrative Code. Public funds
thereby stood to be disbursed in the implementation of said executive
orders.

Suing as a private citizen and taxpayer, Vice President Emmanuel Pelaez

filed a petition for prohibition with preliminary injunction against the
Auditor General. It seeks to restrain from the respondent or any person
acting in his behalf, from passing in audit any expenditure of public funds
in implementation of the executive orders aforementioned.

ISSUE:

Whether the executive orders are null and void, upon the ground that the
President does not have the authority to create municipalities as this
power has been vested in the legislative department.
RULING:

Section 10(1) of Article VII of the fundamental law ordains:

“The President shall have control of all the executive departments,

bureaus or offices, exercise general supervision over all local governments
as may be provided by law, and take care that the laws be faithfully
executed.”

The power of control under this provision implies the right of the
President to interfere in the exercise of such discretion as may be vested
by law in the officers of the executive departments, bureaus, or offices of
the national government, as well as to act in lieu of such officers. This
power is denied by the Constitution to the Executive, insofar as local
governments are concerned. Such control does not include the authority
to either abolish an executive department or bureau, or to create a new
one. Section 68 of the Revised Administrative Code does not merely fail
to comply with the constitutional mandate above quoted, it also gives the
President more power than what was vested in him by the Constitution.

The Executive Orders in question are hereby declared null and void ab
initio and the respondent permanently restrained from passing in audit
any expenditure of public funds in implementation of said Executive
Orders or any disbursement by the municipalities referred to.
 Disomangcop vs DPWH Secretary, GR 149848, November 25, 2004

FACTS
On Aug. 1, 1989, RA 6734 was passed (Organic Act of ARMM). Four
provinces voted for inclusion in ARMM, namely: Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu
and Tawi-Tawi. In accordance with it, EO 426 was issued by Pres. Cory Aquino on
Oct. 12, 1990. The same devolved to the ARMM the power of the DPWH.
Consequently, DO 119 entitled "Creation of Marawi Sub-District Engineering Office."
was issued by DPWH Sec. Vigilar last May 20, 1999, which is in accordance with the
E.O 124. It created a DPWH Marawi Sub-District Engineering Office which shall
have jurisdiction over all national infrastructure projects and facilities under the
DPWH within Marawi City and Lanao del Sur. On Jan. 17, 2001, RA 8999 which
created a new Engineering District in the first district of Lanao del Sur was passed by
Pres. Estrada entitled “An act establishing an engineering district as the first district of
Lanao Del Sur and appropriating funds therefor”. On March 31, 2001, RA 9054 which
amended RA 6734 was passed. The province of Basilan and the City of Marawi voted
to join ARMM through said law.
Disomangcop and Dimalotang sin their capacity as Officer-in-Charge and
Engineer II respectively of the First Engineering District of DPWH-ARMM in Lanao
del Sur filed a petition questioning the constitutionality and validity of DO 119 and
RA 8999 on the ground that they contravene the constitution and the organic acts of
the ARMM. Moreover they sought mainly the following relief: to prohibit respondent
DPWH Secretary from implementing D.O 119 and R.A 8999 and releasing funds for
public work projects intended for Lanao Del Sur and Marawi City to the Marawi Sub-
District Engineering Office and other administrative regions of DPWH.

ISSUE

WON DO 119 and RA 8999 are both invalid and constitutionally infirm

HELD

Yes, Republic Act 8999 never became an operative and was superseded or
repealed by Republic Act 9054. RA 8999 is patently inconsistent with RA 9054 which
is a later law. RA 9054, which is anchored on the 1987 Constitution advances the
constitutional grant of autonomy by detailing the powers of the ARMM which covers
among others Lanao del Sur. However, RA 8999 ventures to re-establish the National
Government's jurisdiction over the infrastructure programs in Lanao del Sur. RA 8999
is patently inconsistent with RA 9054, and it destroys the latter law's objective of
devolution of the functions of DPWH in line with the policy of the Constitution to
grant LGUs meaningful and authentic regional autonomy.

DO 119 creating the Marawi Sub-District Engineering Office which has

jurisdiction over infrastructure projects within Marawi City and Lanao del Sur is
violate of the provisions of EO 426 which implements the transfer of control and
supervision of the DPWH to the ARMM in line with RA 6734. The office created
under DO 119 having essentially the same powers with the District Engineering
Office of Lanao del Sur as created under EO 426, is a duplication. The DO in effect
takes back powers which have been previously devolved under EO 426. RA 9054
however has repealed DO Department Order 119.

Thus, R.A 8999 is antagonistic to and cannot be reconciled with both ARMM
Organic Acts. It contravened true decentralization which is the essence of regional
autonomy. And, D.O were issued unconstitutional and were issued grave abuse of
discretion