University of the Philippines College of Law

MSI 2D

Topic Publication and Effectivity

Case No. G.R. No. L-63915. December 29, 1986
Case Name Tanada v. Tuvera
Ponente Cruz, J.

RELEVANT FACTS

136 SCRA 27 (April 24, 1985) (Note: the case assigned for this topic is the 1986 MR)
 Petitioners filed for writ of mandamus to compel respondent public officials to publish and/or cause to
publish various presidential decrees, letters of instructions, general orders, proclamations, executive
orders, letters of implementations and administrative orders.
o They invoked the right of the people to be informed on matters of public concern as well as the
principle that the laws, in order to be valid and enforceable, must be published in the Official
Gazette.
 The Solicitor General, representing the respondents, moved for the dismissal of the case, contending that
petitioners have no legal personality to bring the instant petition.
 Issue: W/N publication in the Official Gazette is required before any law or statute becomes valid and
enforceable – YES
 Ratio: Art. 2 of the Civil Code does not preclude the requirement of publication in the Official Gazette, even
if the law itself provides for the date of its effectivity. The clear object of this provision is to give the general
public adequate notice of the various laws which are to regulate their actions and conduct as citizens.
Without such notice and publication, there would be no basis for the application of the maxim ignoratia
legis nominem excusat. It would be the height of injustice to punish or otherwise burden a citizen for the
transgression of a law which he had no notice whatsoever, not even a constructive one.
 The very first clause of Section 1 of CA 638 reads: “there shall be published in the Official Gazette….”
o The word “shall” therein imposes upon respondent officials an imperative duty. That duty must be
enforced if the constitutional right of the people to be informed on matter of public concern is to
be given substance and validity.
 The publication of presidential issuances of public nature or of general applicability is a requirement of due
process. It is a rule of law that before a person may be bound by law, he must first be officially and
specifically informed of its contents. The Court declared that presidential issuances of general application
which have not been published have no force and effect.

146 SCRA 446 (December 29, 1986)

 This is a motion for reconsideration of the decision promulgated on April 24, 1985. Respondent (the
government) argued that while publication was necessary as a rule, it was not so when it was “otherwise
provided” as when the decrees themselves declared that they were to become effective immediately upon
their approval.
 Petitioners, in this MR, specifically ask the following questions:
o What is meant by '' law of public nature'' or " general applicability"?
o Must a distinction be made between laws of general applicability and laws which are not?
o What is meant by "publication"?
o Where is the publication to be made?
o When is the publication to be made?

ISSUE AND RATIO DECIDENDI

Issue Ratio
 University of the Philippines College of Law
MSI 2D

W/N a distinction be made  The clause “unless it is otherwise provided” refers to the date of effectivity
between laws of general and not to the requirement of publication itself, which cannot in any event
applicability and laws which are be omitted. This clause does not mean that the legislature may make the law
not as to their publication effective immediately upon approval, or in any other date, without its
previous publication.
W/N a publication shall be made  Publication is indispensable in every case, but the legislature may in its
in publications of general discretion provide that the usual 15-day period shall be shortened or
circulation extended.
 We note at this point the conclusive presumption that every person knows
the law, which of course presupposes that the law has been published if the
presumption is to have any legal justification at all. It is no less important to
remember that Section 6 of the Bill of Rights recognizes "the right of the
people to information on matters of public concern," and this certainly applies
to, among others, and indeed especially, the legislative enactments of the
government.
 “Laws” should refer to all laws and not only to those of general application,
for strictly speaking, all laws relate to the people in general albeit there are
some that do not apply to them directly.
o A law without any bearing on the public would be invalid as an
intrusion of privacy or as class legislation or as an ultra vires act of
the legislature.
o To be valid, the law must invariably affect the public interest eve if it
might be directly applicable only to one individual, or some of the
people only, and not to the public as a whole.
 All statutes, including those of local application and private laws, shall be
published as a condition for their effectivity, which shall begin 15 days after
publication unless a different effectivity date is fixed by the legislature.
o Covered by this rule are presidential decrees and executive orders
promulgated by the President in the exercise of legislative powers
whenever the same are validly delegated by the legislature or, at
present, directly conferred by the Constitution. Administrative rules
and regulations must also be published if their purpose is to enforce
or implement existing law pursuant also to a valid delegation.
o Interpretative regulations and those merely internal in nature, that
is, regulating only the personnel of the administrative agency and not
the public, need not be published. Neither is publication required of
the so-called letters of instructions issued by administrative
superiors concerning the rules or guidelines to be followed by their
subordinates in the performance of their duties.
o Municipal ordinances are not covered by this rule but by the Local
Government Code.
 Publication must be in full or it is no publication at all, since its purpose is to
inform the public of the content of the law.
 Article 2 of the Civil Code provides that publication of laws must be made in
the Official Gazette, and not elsewhere, as a requirement for their effectivity.
The Supreme Court is not called upon to rule upon the wisdom of a law or to
repeal or modify it if it finds it impractical. That is not this Court’s function.
The publication must be made forthwith, or at least as soon as possible.
 J. Cruz:
 University of the Philippines College of Law
MSI 2D

o Laws must come out in the open in the clear light of the sun instead
of skulking in the shadows with their dark, deep secrets. Mysterious
pronouncements and rumored rules cannot be recognized as binding
unless their existence and contents are confirmed by a valid
publication intended to make full disclosure and give proper notice
to the people. The furtive law is like a scabbarded saber that cannot
faint, parry or cut unless the naked blade is drawn.

RULING

WHEREFORE, it is hereby declared that all laws as above defined shall immediately upon their approval, or as soon
thereafter as possible, be published in full in the Official Gazette, to become effective only after fifteen days from
their publication, or on another date specified by the legislature, in accordance with Article 2 of the Civil Code.

SEPARATE OPINIONS
Fernan, Concurring.
 The categorical statement by this Court on the need for publication before any law may be made effective
seeks to prevent abuses on the part of the lawmakers and, at the same time, ensures to the people their
constitutional right to due process and to information on matters of public concern.

Felliciano, Concurring.
 A statute which by its terms provides for its coming into effect immediately upon approval thereof, is
properly interpreted as coming into effect immediately upon publication thereof in the Official Gazette as
provided in Article 2 of the Civil Code. Such statute, in other words, should not be regarded as purporting
literally to come into effect immediately upon its approval or enactment and without need of publication.
For so to interpret such statute would be to collide with the constitutional obstacle posed by the due
process clause. The enforcement of prescriptions which are both unknown to and unknowable by those
subjected to the statute, has been throughout history a common tool of tyrannical governments. Such
application and enforcement constitutes at bottom a negation of the fundamental principle of legality in
the relations between a government and its people.

NOTES
New Civil Code, Art. 2:
"ART. 2. Laws shall take effect after fifteen days following the completion of their publication in the Official Gazette,
unless it is otherwise provided. This Code shall take effect one year after such publication."