2013

 –  2014  Cases  

Administra*ve  Law  and  

Administra*ve  Agencies  

Alberto  C.  Agra  

Professor  of  Laws,  Ateneo  Law  School  
September  29,  2014  
 Administra*ve  Law  
•  Defini6on:  All  the  laws  that  regulate  or  control  
the  administra6ve  organiza6on  and  
opera6ons  of  the  government  
•  Classifica6ons:  
1.  Internal  and  External  Administra6on  
2.  Law  that  Controls  and  those  made  by  
Administra6ve  Agencies  
3.  Substan6ve  or  Procedural  Administra6ve  Law  
4.  General  or  Special  Administra6ve  Law  

Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   2  

 Administra*ve  Agencies  (AAs)  
•  An  agency  which  exercises  some  significant  
form  or  combina6on  of  execu6ve,  legisla6ve  
or  judicial  powers  (“4th  Branch”)  
•  Include  boards,  commissions,  departments,  
bureaus,  offices,  authori6es,  government  
corpora6ons,  government  instrumentali6es,  
and  local  governments  
•  Ra6onale:  complex,  diverse  and  specialized  
concerns  
Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   3  
 Crea*on  of  AAs  

1.  Cons6tu6on  
2.  Congress  (Law;  for  GOCC  s–  economically  viable  and  
common  good;  LGUs  –  plebiscite)  
3.  President  (Execu6ve  Order;  by  authority  under  the  
Cons6tu6on  or  of  law)  
4.  Administra6ve  Agencies  themselves  (Ar6cles  of  
Incorpora6on;  by  authority  of  law)  
5.  Local  Governments  (Ordinance;  by  authority  of  law)  

Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   4  

 Government  Bureaucracy  
o  Administra6ve  Agency   o  Government  Financial  
o  Public  Offices   Ins6tu6on  
o  Na6onal  Government   o  State  Universi6es  and  
Agency   Colleges  
o  Public  Corpora6ons   o  Quasi-­‐Corpora6on  
o  Government-­‐Owned  and   o  Quasi-­‐Public  Corpora6on  
–Controlled  Corpora6ons   o  Municipal  Corpora6on  
(original  charter  or  special   Proper/  Local  
charter)   Government  Unit  
o  Government   o  Quasi-­‐Municipal  
Instrumentali6es  with   Corpora6on  
Corporate  Powers  

Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   5  

 Public  Offices  (POs):  Elements  
1.  Crea6on  
2.  Sovereign  Power  
3.  Stated  Powers  
4.  Rela6onship  with  other  POs  
5.  Con6nuing  and  Permanent  

Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   6  

 Delinea*on  
o  All  PCs  are  AAs,  but  not  all  AAs  are  PCs  (e.g.  
DBM,  COA)  
o  All  AAs  are  POs,  but  not  all  POs  are  AAs  (e.g.  
Congress,  Courts)  
o  All  GOCCs  are  PCs,  but  not  all  PCs  are  GOCCs  
(e.g.  MIAA,  BCDA)  

Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   7  

 Charter:  Enabling  Instrument  
1.  Name     6.  Rela6onships  
2.  Principles   7.  Jurisdic6on  
3.  Mandate  and   8.  Structure  
Purpose   9.  Budget  
4.  Powers   10. Dissolu6on  
5.  Du6es  and  
Responsibili6es  

Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   8  

 Characteris*cs  of  AAs  
1.  Size  
2.  Specializa6on  
3.  Responsibility  for  Results  
4.  Variety  of  Administra6ve  Du6es  
5.  Delegated  Authori6es  
6.  Accountability  
7.  Rela6onships  

Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   9  

 Types  of  AAs  
1.  Offers  gratui6es,  grants  or  privileges  (PAO)  
2.  Performs  specific  governmental  func6ons  (BIR)  
3.  Undertakes  public  service  (MWSS)  
4.  Regulates  businesses  affected  with  public  
interest  (NTC)  
5.  Exercises  police  power  to  regulate  private  
businesses  (SEC)  
6.  Resolves  controversies  (NLRC)  
Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   10  
 Administra*ve  Rela*onship  
•  Areas:  policies,  opera6ons,  budget,  decisions,  
day-­‐to-­‐day,  policy  and  program  coordina6on  
•  Types:  
1.  Supervision  and  Control  (subs@tute  judgment;  rules  
on  how  to  execute  act;  alter-­‐ego;  e.g.  President  and  
DOTC)  
2.  Administra6ve  Supervision  (oversight,  reports,  proper  
performance;  not  over  appointments  and  contracts,  
not  reverse  decisions;  e.g.  Department  and  Regulatory  
Agencies  –  DOE  and  ERC;  City  and  Barangay)  
3.  Ahachment  (sit  in  Board;  repor@ng;  not  day-­‐to-­‐day;  
e.g.  DPWH  and  MWSS)  
Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   11  
 Powers  
•  Possesses  Delegated,  not  Inherent,  Powers  
•  Subordinate,  not  Superior,  to  Enabling  
Instrument  
•  Liberal,  not  Strict,  Interpreta6on  of  Powers  
•  AAs  (except  LGUs)  cannot  prohibit  what  law  does  
not  prohibit  
•  Basic  Powers  
1.  Inves6ga6ve  
2.  Rule-­‐Making  or  Quasi-­‐Legisla6ve  
3.  Adjudica6ve  or  Quasi-­‐Judicial  

Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   12  

 Delega*on  of  Powers  
•  Potestas  delegata  non  potest  delegari  
•  Excep6ons:  
–  President  –  tariff  and  emergency  
–  Local  Governments  
–  People’s  Ini6a6ve  
–  Administra6ve  Agencies  
•  Tests  of  Valid  Delega6on:    
–  Completeness  (the  ‘what’);  and    
–  Sufficient  Standards  (may  be  broad;  need  not  be  
stated  in  law);  not  vague  
Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   13  
 Inves*ga*ve  Powers  
•  partakes  of  judicial  discre6on,  not  judicial  
func6on  
•  Express  Grant   •  Express  or  Implied  
1.  Contempt   1.  Fact-­‐Finding  
2.  Subpoena   2.  Ocular  Inspec6on  
3.  Search   3.  Visitorial  
(Presence  of  counsel  
not  required)  

Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   14  

 Rule-­‐Making  
•  Defini6on:  Power  to  Issue  Rules/  Fill  in  details/  
How  (not What’)  a  Law  will  be  implemented  
•  Nature:  Inferior/  Subordinate  (cannot  change,  
amend  or  conflict  with  charter  or  law)  
o Confined  to  laws  AA  is  tasked  to  implement  
•  Ra6onale:  regula6on  highly  complex,  future  
situa6ons  cannot  be  fully  an6cipated  

Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   15  

 Rule-­‐Making  
Effects  
1.  Force  and  effect  of  law  
2.  Interpreta6ons  persuasive  (not  controlling)  
3.  Presumed  legal  and  cons6tu6onal  
4.  Opera6ve  effect  
5.  Subject  to  judicial  review  
6.  Subject  to  repeal  and  amendment  
7.  Prospec6ve  applica6on  
Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   16  
 Rule-­‐Making  
Requisites  
1.  by  authority  of  law  
2.  not  contrary  to  law  (content)  
3.  properly  promulgated  (process  –  publica6on;  
hearing,  if  required  by  law)    
o  Prior  hearing,  consulta6on  and  publica6on  not  
required  for  administra6ve  regula6ons  
4.  Reasonable  
o  Rela6on  to  purpose  
o  Supported  by  good  reasons  
o  Not  arbitrary  
o  Free  from  legal  infirmi6es  
Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   17  
 Types  of  Rules  (PIPICS)  
Type   Grant   Publica1on  
Supplementary   Express  (E)     Required  
or  Implied  (I)  
Interpreta*ve   E  or  I   Not  Required  
Con*ngent   E   Required  
Penal   E   Required  
Procedural   E  or  I   Required  
Internal   E  or  I   Not  Required  
Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   18  
Invalid  Exercise:  Rule-­‐Making  
Law   Rule  
Creates   Abolishes  
Strict  Requirements   Liberalizes  Requirements  
No  Requirement   Imposes  Requirement  
Stated  Requirement   Alters/  Deletes  Requirement  
Enumera6on  Exclusive   Adds/  Deletes  Requirement  
No  Classifica6on   Discriminates/  Classifies  
Limited  Applica6on   Expands  Applica6on  
Fixed  Period   Changes  Period  
Con6nue  Prac6ce   Discon6nues  Prac6ce  
Grant  Power   Nullifies  Power  
Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   19  
 Quasi-­‐Judicial  Power  
•  Grant  of  Power:  Express  
o Power  to  issue  clearance  confers  inves6gatory,  
not  adjudicatory  powers  
•  Defini6on:  Deciding  controversies,  resolving  
conflic6ng  claims  and  posi6ons  
•  Extent:  Ordinarily  only  ques6ons  of  fact  
(ques6ons  of  law  or  mixed  if  expressly  
permihed  under  the  Charter/  law)  
•  Limita6on:  Subject  to  Judicial  Review  

Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   20  

 Classes:  Quasi-­‐Judicial  Power  

1.  Direc6ng  (correc6ve/  award)  –  backwages  

2.  Enabling  (grant/  permit)  –  grant  of  franchise  
3.  Dispensing  (exempt/  relieve)  –  amnesty  
4.  Summary  (compel/  force)  –  cease  and  desist  
5.  Equitable  

Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   21  

 Quasi-­‐Legisla*ve  or  -­‐Judicial  
•  Applica6on  for  rate  increase  by  a  par6cular  
public  u6lity  (QJ)  
•  Increase  rates  for  all  buses  (QL)  
•  Seong  qualifica6on  standards  (QL)  
•  Disqualifying  a  candidate  (QJ)  
•  Procedures  for  applying  for  a  franchise  (QL)  
•  Revoking  a  specific  franchise  (QJ)  

Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   22  

 Quasi-­‐Legisla*ve  and  -­‐Judicial  
Topic   Quasi-­‐Judicial   Quasi-­‐Legisla1ve  
Grant   E   E  or  I  
Par6es   Par6cular   All/  Sectors  
Adversarial   Yes   No  
Controversy   Exists   None  
No6ce  and  Hearing   Required   Not  Required  
(unless  law)  
Primary/  Exhaus6on   Applicable   Not  Applicable  
Time   Past/  Present   Future  
Publica6on   Not  Required   Depends  
Res  Judicata   Applicable   Not  Applicable  
Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   23  
 Administra*ve  Proceedings  
•  Character:  Adversarial,  quasi-­‐judicial,  civil  
•  Jurisdic6on:  Defined  by  Law/  Charter  (not  by  
AA  or  par6es)  
•  Nature:  Power  to  Adjudicate  Not  Delegable  
(power  to  hear/  receive  evidence  can  be  
delegated)  
•  Due  Process  (DINA):  Decision,  Impar6al  
Tribunal,  No6ce  and  Appear/  Defend  
•  Procedure:  reasonable,  due  process,  meet  
ends,  published  
Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   24  
 Administra*ve  Proceedings  
•  No6ce  and  Hearing  
o  Required  (actual  or  construc6ve)    
o  Subject  to  waiver  and  estoppel  
o  Curable  (i.e.,  subsequently  heard,  filing  of  mo6on  of  
reconsidera6on,  ahend  oral  arguments)  
o  Posi6on  papers  allowed  
o  Not  required  when  privilege,  abatement,  condi6onal  
right,  legisla6ve  or  administra6ve  
•  Right  to  counsel  not  impera6ve    
•  Full  Hearing:  All  Claims,  Rebuhal,  Evidence  and  
Cross-­‐Examina6on  (dispensable)  
Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   25  
 Administra*ve  Proceedings  
•  Evidence  
o Substan6al  (unless  law  provides  different  
quantum)  
o Ocular  allowed  (when  relevant)  
o Adop6on  of  reports  allowed  
•  Decision:  Bases,  Form  (need  not  be  full-­‐
blown),  Par6es,  All  Issues  and  Evidence  
•  Enforcement:  by  AA  if  authorized  by  law  (if  
not,  courts)  
Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   26  
 Administra*ve  Findings  
•  AA  findings  are  not  conclusive  and  final  before  
courts  
•  Given  weight,  not  disturbed  unless:  
o Not  based  on  substan6al  evidence  
o Fraud,  mistake,  collusion  
o Palpable  errors  
o Grave  abuse  of  discre6on  
o Misapprecia6on  of  evidence  
o Conflict  in  factual  findings  

Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   27  

 Judicial  Review  

1.  Cer6orari  
2.  Prohibi6on  
3.  Injunc6on  
4.  Mandamus  
5.  Declaratory  Relief  
6.  Appeal  

Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   28  

 Defenses:  Judicial  Review  Premature  
1.  Doctrine  of  Finality  of  Administra*ve  Ac*on:  
Decision  of  AA  must  be  final  before  Judicial  
Review;  Excep6ons:  
o  interlocutory  orders,  protect  rights,  violate  
Cons6tu6on,  excessive  use  of  power  
2.  Doctrine  of  Primary  Jurisdic*on:  AA  
concurrent  with  courts;  needs  administra6ve  
discre6on  and  exper6se  of  AA  
o  HLURB,  not  courts,  on  specific  performance  on  
non-­‐delivery  of  6tles  to  lots  
o  COA,  not  courts,  on  money  claims  against  
government  subdivisions,  agencies  
Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   29  
 Defenses:  Judicial  Review  Premature  
3.  Doctrine  of  Ripeness  for  Review:  
Controversy  must  be  real,  present  or  
imminent  (not  future/  imaginary/  remote)  
4.  Doctrine  of  Exhaus*on  of  Administra*ve  
Remedies:  exhaust  all  administra6ve  
remedies  before  recourse  to  courts,  
condi6on  precedent,  with  19  excep6ons,  
namely:  JPLCS  DRIED  DARN  CLRNT  

Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   30  

 Excep*ons:  Non-­‐Exhaus*on  
JPLCS   DRIED  
Ques6ons  essen6ally   Uher  disregard  for  Due  
Judicial   Process  
Administra6ve  Remedy   No  plain  speedy  
is  Permissive   Remedy  
Pure  ques6on  of  Law   Strong  public  Interest  
Cons6tu6onality   Estoppel  
Small  amount  that   Con6nued  and  
exhaus6on  will  be   unreasonable  Delay  
costly   Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   31  
 Excep*ons:  Non-­‐Exhaus*on  
DARN   CLRNT  
Irreparable  Damage  by   Civil  ac6on  for  damages  
party   Land  not  part  of  public  
Alter  Ego  Bears   domain  
approval  of  President   Special  Reasons  
No  administra6ve   demanding  
Review  is  provided   immediate  judicial  
Insistence  on   relief  
exhaus6on  will  lead   No  Decision  rendered  
to  Nullifica6on  of   Transcendental  issues  
claim   Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   32  
 Recent  Cases  
Exhaus*on  not  needed   Exhaus*on  needed  
o  Decision  made  by  Deputy   o  Chief  of  Environmental  
Ombudsman  on  behalf  of   Management  Bureau  to  
Ombudsman  need  not  be   Regional  Director  to  
appealed  to  Ombudsman,   Director  of  EMB,  not  courts  
can  immediately  go  to  court   (on  ECC)  
o  Decisions  of  head  of  offices   o  State  Auditor  to  COA,  not  
in  administra6ve  cases  final   courts  (on  Special  Audit)  
if  penalty  is  suspension  for   o  HLURB,  not  courts  (on  
more  than  30  days,  no  need   Loca6onal  Clearance)  
to  go  to  CSC  

Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   33  

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Administrative  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   34  

THANK  YOU.  GOOD  LUCK.  

Administra6ve  Law  Reviewer,  Agra   35