EN BANC

[G.R. No. L-63915. December 29, 1986.]

LORENZO M. TAÑADA, ABRAHAM F. SARMIENTO, and

MOVEMENT OF ATTORNEYS FOR BROTHERHOOD, INTEGRITY
AND NATIONALISM, INC. (MABINI), petitioners, vs. HON. JUAN
C. TUVERA. in his capacity as Executive Assistant to the
President, HON. JOAQUIN VENUS, in his capacity as Deputy
Executive Assistant to the President, MELQUIADES P. DE LA
CRUZ, ETC., ET AL., respondents.

RESOLUTION

CRUZ, J : p

Due process was invoked by the petitioners in demanding the

disclosure or a number of presidential decrees which they claimed had not
been published as required by law. 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. In the decision of this
case on April 24, 1985, the Court affirmed the necessity for the publication of
some of these decrees, declaring in the dispositive portion as follows:
"WHEREFORE, the Court hereby orders respondents to publish to
the Official Gazette all unpublished presidential issuances which are of
general application, and unless so published, they shall have no
binding force and effect."

The petitioners are now before us again, this time to move for
reconsideration/clarification of that decision. 1 Specifically, they ask the
following questions:
1. What is meant by "law of public nature" or "general
applicability"?
2. Must a distinction be made between laws of general applicability
and laws which are not?
3. What is meant by "publication"?
4. Where is the publication to be made?
5. When is the publication to be made?
Resolving their own doubts, the petitioners suggest that there should
be no distinction between laws of general applicability and those which are
not; that publication means complete publication; and that the publication
must be made forthwith in the Official Gazette. 2
In the Comment 3 required of the then Solicitor General, he claimed
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 first that the motion was a request for an advisory opinion and should
therefore be dismissed, and, on the merits, that the clause "unless it is
otherwise provided" in Article 2 of the Civil Code meant that the publication
required therein was not always imperative; that publication, when
necessary, did not have to be made in the Official Gazette; and that in any
case the subject decision was concurred in only by three justices and
consequently not binding. This elicited a Reply 4 refuting these arguments.
Came next the February Revolution and the Court required the new Solicitor
General to file a Rejoinder in view of the supervening events, under Rule 3,
Section 18, of the Rules of Court. Responding, he submitted that issuances
intended only for the interval administration of a government agency or for
particular persons did not have to be published; that publication when
necessary must be in full and in the Official Gazette; and that, however, the
decision under reconsideration was not binding because it was not
supported by eight members of this Court. 5
The subject of contention is Article 2 of the Civil Code providing as
follows:
"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."

After a careful study of this provision and of the arguments of the

parties, both on the original petition and on the instant motion, we have
come to the conclusion, and so hold, that the clause "unless it is otherwise
provided" refers to the date of effectivity and not to the requirement of
publication itself, which cannot in any event be omitted. This clause does not
mean that the legislature may make the law effective immediately upon
approval, or on any other date, without its previous publication. cdphil

Publication is indispensable in every case, but the legislature may in its

discretion provide that the usual fifteen-day period shall be shortened or
extended. An example, as pointed out by the present Chief Justice in his
separate concurrence in the original decision, 6 is the Civil Code which did
not become effective after fifteen days from its publication in the Official
Gazette but "one year after such publication." The general rule did not apply
because it was "otherwise provided."
It is not correct to say that under the disputed clause publication may
be dispensed with altogether. The reason is that such omission would offend
due process insofar as it would deny the public knowledge of the laws that
are supposed to govern it. Surely, if the legislature could validly provide that
a law shall become effective immediately upon its approval notwithstanding
the lack of publication (or after an unreasonably short period after
publication), it is not unlikely that persons not aware of it would be
prejudiced as a result; and they would be so not because of a failure to
comply with it but simply because they did not know of its existence.
Significantly, this is not true only of penal laws as is commonly supposed.
One can think of many non-penal measures, like a law on prescription, which
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 must also be communicated to the persons they may affect before they can
begin to operate. LexLib

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.
The term "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. An example
is a law granting citizenship to a particular individual, like a relative of
President Marcos who was decreed instant naturalization. It surely cannot be
said that such a law does not affect the public although it unquestionably
does not apply directly to all the people. The subject of such law is a matter
of public interest which any member of the body politic may question in the
political forums or, if he is a proper party, even in the courts of justice. In
fact, 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. To
be valid, the law must invariably affect the public interest even if it might be
directly applicable only to one individual, or some of the people only, and not
to the public as a whole.
We hold therefore that all statutes, including those of local application
and private laws, shall be published as a condition for their effectivity, which
shall begin fifteen days after publication unless a different effectivity date is
fixed by the legislature. LibLex

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.
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. cdasia

Accordingly, even the charter of a city must be published

notwithstanding that it applies to only a portion of the national territory and
directly affects only the inhabitants of that place. All presidential decrees
must be published, including even, say, those naming a public place after a
favored individual or exempting him from certain prohibitions or
requirements. The circulars issued by the Monetary Board must be published
if they are meant not merely to interpret but to "fill in the details" of the
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 Central Bank Act which that body is supposed to enforce.
However, no publication is required of the instructions issued by, say,
the Minister of Social Welfare on the case studies to be made in petitions for
adoption or the rules laid down by the head of a government agency on the
assignments or workload of his personnel or the wearing of office uniforms.
Parenthetically, municipal ordinances are not covered by this rule but by the
Local Government Code.
We agree that the publication must be in full or it is no publication at
all since its purpose is to inform the public of the contents of the laws. As
correctly pointed out by the petitioners, the mere mention of the number of
the presidential decree, the title of such decree, its whereabouts (e.g., "with
Secretary Tuvera"), the supposed date of effectivity, and in a mere
supplement of the Official Gazette cannot satisfy the publication
requirement. This is not even substantial compliance. This was the manner,
incidentally, in which the General Appropriations Act for FY 1975, a
presidential decree undeniably of general applicability and interest, was
"published" by the Marcos administration. 7 The evident purpose was to
withhold rather than disclose information on this vital law.
Coming now to the original decision, it is true that only four justices
were categorically for publication in the Official Gazette 8 and that six others
felt that publication could be made elsewhere as long as the people were
sufficiently informed. 9 One reserved his vote 10 and another merely
acknowledged the need for due publication without indicating where it
should be made. 11 It is therefore necessary for the present membership of
this Court to arrive at a clear consensus on this matter and to lay down a
binding decision supported by the necessary vote.
There is much to be said of the view that the publication need not be
made in the Official Gazette, considering its erratic releases and limited
readership. Undoubtedly, newspapers of general circulation could better
perform the function of communicating the laws to the people as such
periodicals are more easily available, have a wider readership, and come out
regularly. The trouble, though, is that this kind of publication is not the one
required or authorized by existing law. As far as we know, no amendment
has been made of Article 2 of the Civil Code. The Solicitor General has not
pointed to such a law, and we have no information that it exists. If it does, it
obviously has not yet been published.
At any rate, this Court is not called upon to rule upon the wisdom of a
law or to repeal or modify it if we find it impractical. That is not our function.
That function belongs to the legislature. Our task is merely to interpret and
apply the law as conceived and approved by the political departments of the
government in accordance with the prescribed procedure. Consequently, we
have no choice but to pronounce that under Article 2 of the Civil Code, the
publication of laws must be made in the Official Gazette, and not elsewhere,
as a requirement for their effectivity after fifteen days from such publication
or after a different period provided by the legislature. LLphil

We also hold that the publication must be made forthwith, or at least

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 as soon as possible, to give effect to the law pursuant to the said Article 2.
There is that possibility, of course, although not suggested by the parties
that a law could be rendered unenforceable by a mere refusal of the
executive, for whatever reason, to cause its publication as required. This is a
matter, however, that we do not need to examine at this time.
Finally, the claim of the former Solicitor General that the instant motion
is a request for an advisory opinion is untenable, to say the least, and
deserves no further comment.
The days of the secret laws and the unpublished decrees are over. This
is once again an open society, with all the acts of the government subject to
public scrutiny and available always to public cognizance. This has to be so if
our country is to remain democratic, with sovereignty residing in the people
and all government authority emanating from them.
Although they have delegated the power of legislation, they retain the
authority to review the work of their delegates and to ratify or reject it
according to their lights, through their freedom of expression and their right
of suffrage. This they cannot do if the acts of the legislature are concealed.
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 feint, parry or cut unless the naked
blade is drawn.
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.dctai

SO ORDERED.
Teehankee, C .J ., Feria, Yap, Narvasa, Melencio-Herrera, Alampay,
Gutierrez, Jr ., and Paras, JJ ., concur.

Separate Opinions
FERNAN, J ., concurring:

While concurring in the Court's opinion penned by my distinguished

colleague, Mr. Justice Isagani A. Cruz, I would like to add a few observations.
Even as a Member of the defunct Batasang Pambansa, I took a strong stand
against the insidious manner by which the previous dispensation had
promulgated and made effective thousands of decrees, executive orders,
letters of instructions, etc. Never has the law-making power which
traditionally belongs to the legislature been used and abused to satisfy the
whims and caprices of a one-man legislative mill as it happened in the past
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 regime. Thus, in those days, it was not surprising to witness the sad
spectacle of two presidential decrees bearing the same number, although
covering two different subject matters. In point is the case of two
presidential decrees bearing number 1686 issued on March 19, 1980, one
granting Philippine citizenship to Michael M. Keon, the then President's
nephew and the other imposing a tax on every motor vehicle equipped with
air-conditioner. This was further exacerbated by the issuance of PD No.
1686-A also on March 19, 1980 granting Philippine citizenship to basketball
players Jeffrey Moore and Dennis George Still. cdll

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.

FELICIANO, J ., concurring:

I agree entirely with the opinion of the court so eloquently written by

Mr. Justice Isagani A. Cruz. At the same time, I wish to add a few statements
to reflect my understanding of what the Court is saying. cdlex

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.
At the same time, it is clear that the requirement of publication of a
statute in the Official Gazette, as distinguished from any other medium such
as a newspaper of general circulation, is embodied in a statutory norm and
is not a constitutional command. The statutory norm is set out in Article 2 of
the Civil Code and is supported and reinforced by Section 1 of
Commonwealth Act No. 638 and Section 35 of the Revised Administrative
Code. A specification of the Official Gazette as the prescribed medium of
publication may therefore be changed. Article 2 of the Civil Code could,
without creating a constitutional problem, be amended by a subsequent
statute providing, for instance, for publication either in the Official Gazette or
in a newspaper of general circulation in the country. Until such an
amendatory statute is in fact enacted, Article 2 of the Civil Code must be
obeyed and publication effected in the Official Gazette and not in any other
medium. LLjur

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 Footnotes
1. Rollo, pp. 242-250.
2. Ibid., pp. 244-248.
3. Id., pp. 271-280.
4. Id., pp. 288-299.
5. Id., pp. 320-322.
6. 136 SCRA 27, 46.

7. Rollo, p. 246.
8. Justices Venicio Escolin (ponente), Claudio Teehankee, Ameurfina Melencio-
Herrera, and Lorenzo Relova.

9. Chief Justice Enrique M. Fernando and Justices Felix V. Makasiar, Vicente

Abad-Santos, Efren I. Plana, Serafin P. Cuevas, and Nestor B. Alampay.

10. Justice Hugo E. Gutierrez, Jr.

11. Justice B. S. de la Fuente.

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