Administrative and Election Laws
The law, the execution or enforcement of which is entrusted to
I. Concepts and Definitions
A. Administrative law; administrative agencies
Administrative Law - is the branch of modern law under which the executive
department of government, acting in quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial
capacity, interferes with the conduct of the individual for the purpose of
promoting well-being of the community, as under laws regulating public
interest, professions, trades and callings, rates and prices, laws for the
protection of public health and safety, and the promotion of public
convenience. It is the branch of public law which fixes the organization and
determines the competence of the administrative authorities and indicates
to the individual remedies for the violation of his rights.
It is traditionally classified as a subdivision of Political Law, which is
“the branch of public law which deals with the organization and operation of
the government organs of the state, and defines the relations of the State
with the inhabitants of its territory.
Administrative Agencies - refers to any of the various units of the
government, including a department, bureau, office , instrumentality, or
government-owned or controlled corporation, or a local government or a
distinct unit therein.
Manner of creation
1. By constitutional provision (COMELEC, COA, CSC, Office of the
Ombusdsman)
2. By legislative enactment (DOLE, PDEA)
3. By authority of law (Presidential Communications Development and
Strategic Planning Office)
*If created by the Constitution itself, the administrative body can be altered
or abolished only by constitutional amendment. But where the body was
created only by statute, the legislature that breathed life into it can amend
or even repeal its chapter, thereby resulting in its abolition, which is justified
if made in good faith and not attended by grave abuse of discretion.
Powers of Administrative Agencies
1. Quasi-legislative (rule-making) power - power to make rules and
regulations which results and regulations which results in delegated
legislation that is within the confines of the granting statute and the doctrine
of non-delegability.
2. Quasi-judicial (adjudicatory) power - power to hear and determine
question of fact to which legislative policy is to apply and decide in
accordance with the standards laid down by the law itself in enforcing and
administering the same law.
3. Investigatory power - power to inspect, secure or require the
disclosure of information by means of accounts, records, reports, statements
and testimony of witnesses. This power is implied and not inherent in
administrative agencies.
4. Licensing power - it permits the doing of an act which the law
undertakes to regulate. It includes agency processes involving grant, renewal,
denial, revocation, suspension, annulment, withdrawal, limitation,
amendment, modification, or conditioning of a license.
5. Rate-fixing power - refers to any charge to the public for a service
open to all and upon the same terms, including individual or joint rates, tolls,
classifications, or schedules thereof, as well as commutation, mileage,
kilometerage, and other special rates which shall be imposed by law or
regulation to be followed and observed and followed by any person.
B. Scope of administrative law
Broadly conceived, administrative law covers the following:
1. The law which fixes the administrative organization and structure of
the government;
2.
administrative authorities;
3. The law which governs public officers including their competence
(to act), rights, duties, liabilities, election, etc.;
4. The law which creates the administrative agencies, define their
powers and functions, prescribes their procedures, including the
adjudication or settlement by them of the contested matters involving
private interests;
5. The law which provides the remedies, administrative or judicial,
available to those aggrieved by administrative actions or decisions;
6. The law which governs the judicial review of, or relief against,
administrative actions or decisions;
7. The rules, regulations, orders and decisions (including presidental
proclamations) made by administrative authorities dealing with the
interpretation and enforcement of the laws entrusted to their administration;
and
8. The body of judicial decisions and doctrines dealing with any of the
above.
C. Emergence and development of administrative law
It was observed that as modern society increased in population,
activities, and problems or concerns, the three different departments of the
government found it more difficult to respond to the increasing demands of
the general public, by strictly operating under the doctrine of separation of
powers. For instance, it became inconvenient for legislative branch to
directly address every concern, by enacting a law for every problem, and for
the judicial department to directly resolve every controversy, particluarly
when it involves only questions of fact. On the other hand, it became
perplexing for the executive branch to enforce the laws because the needs
of the constituents have grown more complicated and/or specialized.
Hence, it became more expedient for the legislature “to [authorize]
certain specialized bodies to law down rules for the regulation of the matters
entrusted to their jurisdiction, and additionally, to apply the rules in the
adjudication of factual issues relating to these matters, subject only to
certain broad policies intended to guide and limit them in the exercise of
their delegated power.”
In this manner, the delegation of powers to administrative entities had
freed the legislature from the time-consuming task of passing laws on
relatively minor concerns, and enabled it to focus on problems which are of
greater, national importance. Likewise, this had helped in relieving the
judiciary from the tediousness of adjudicating matters, which essentially
involve factual questions and should more properly be handled by the
executive department.
For example, in the area of public transportation, the mundane task of
regulating matters sch as fixing reasonable fares, the granting of franchises,
and the resolution of factual controversies between riding public and the
owners/operators of public utility vehicles is for adminitrative bodies to
perform. On the other hand, the more significant questions of whether or
not to place the oil industry under government regulation, and whether or
not any law enacted for this purpose is legal or constitutional, are for the
legislature and the judiciary to perform.
In 1917, the Philippine’s earliest Administrative Code was enacted,
which reflected the relationship between the Filipino people and the
American colonial regime. Over the years, alterations were made so that the
law cabn keep abreast with the changing times, and it was referred to as the
Revised Administrative Code.
In 1987, the Executive Order No. 292, otherwise known as the
Administrative Code of 1987, was issued with the avowed objective of
enhancing the effectiveness of government and elevating the standards of
public service. It incorporated in a single, unified document the significant
principles of the government structures, functions, and procedures, and
rules of governance. The law officially became effective in November 1989.
D. Sources of administrative Law
 1. Constitutional and statutory enactments creating administrative
bodies (e.g. Art. IX of the Constitution on the Constitutional Commissions
and the Social Security Act);

2. Executive Order No. 292 (Administrative Code of1987) which

governs the regulars departmets, bureaus, agencies, officers and personnel
of the executive branch of the government;

3. Other statutues establishing administrative agencies (e.g. the Social

Security Law which created the Social Security Commission), and providing
for their organization, structure, powers and functions, and quasi-judicial
authority;

4. Rules amd regulations issued by the administrative bodies in

pursuance of the purposes for which they are created (e.g. Omnibus Rules
Implementing the Labor Code);

5. Decisions of the courts interpreting the characters of the

administrative bodies and defining their powers, rights, inhibitions, among
others, and the effects of their determinations and regulations; and

6. Determinations and orders of the administrative bodies in the

settlement of controversies arising from their respective fields.