WEEK 15 OF SYLLABUS

PHILIPPINE LEGAL CITATIONS

Considering all the sources of Philippine legal information from the 1900s to present, uniform
standard of Philippine citation is needed for clarity, and consistency.  Each individual has his own
style and preference in legal research and writing.   
 
There are available manuals of legal citation as a guide in citing Philippine legal information namely:
 
• Feliciano, Myrna. Philippine Manual of Legal Citations.  Q.C.: University of the
Philippines Law Complex (2013) 117p.
• Santos-Ong, Milagros. Legal Research and Citations in the Philippines. Manila: Rex Book
Store (2013). 208p.
• Supreme Court’s Manual of Judicial Writing (2005). 
• Fundamentals of Decision Writing for Judges.   Manila: Philippine Judicial Academy (2009)
• Ateneo De Manila School of Law through its Ateneo Law Journal came out with its  version of
the  Legal Citation Primer (2008) 33p. 
 
The legal citation provided below took into consideration the complexity of Philippine legal
information and a standard for to conform to both international and Philippine citations.
Santos-Ong, Milagros. Legal Research and Citations in the Philippines. Manila: Rex Book Store
(2013).page 80.
 
Sources of Law:
 
a.  Statutes:
 
a.1.:  Constitution:
 
Cited by reference to the article, section and the paragraph.  The year is placed in parenthesis when
the Constitution is no longer in force. 
 
Example:
Const.  (1935),  Art. VIII,  Sec.  1
Const.  (1973),  Art. X,  Sec. 1
Const,  (1987)Art. VIII,  Sec. 1 
 
Other legal citations provide that  when the current law is cited, the date is not included.  Taking into
consideration the number of times the Philippine Constitution was revised, it is important  to include
the date.  At present, there is a move to revised again the Philippine Constitution either through a
Constitutional Convention (Con-Com)  or a Constitutional Assembly (Con-Ass)
 
a.2. Statutes proper
 
Laws passed by the Legislative Department from 101 to present are cited as follows:
 
 a.2.1   Laws 1901-1934
 
Act No. 136 (1901) 
 
a.2.2.  Commonwealth Acts, 1935-1945
 
Com. Act No. 35 (1935)
 
 a.2.3.  Republic Acts, 1946-1972, 1987-present

Rep. Act No.   88 (1946)

 
 a.2.4.  Presidential Decrees, September 21, 1972 – February 1986
 
Pres. Decree No.  442 (1972)
 
  a.2.b.  Batas Pambansa,  January 1979- February 1, 1986
 
Batas Blg. 129 (1980)
 
Citation of Statutes by Sources:
 
• Printed Source
Rep. Act No. 3019 (1960), 57 O.G., No. 22, 4072 (May 29, 1961) or  4 PPGS 85 (Rev. ed., 1978)
The printed sources  are the Official Gazette (O.G.) or the Philippine Permanent and
General Statutes (PPGS)
• Electronic Sources
Rep. Act No. 3019 (1960), Available at  http://www.lawphil.net/statute/repacts  (last visited
August 29, 2012);  www.ombudsman.gov.ph/docs/republicacts  ((last visited August 29,
2012); www.bsp.gov.ph/regulations/laws (last visited August 29, 2012)
 
  a.3. Treaties
 
This includes treaties entered into by the Philippines whether it be Bilateral or Multilateral. Cited by
the name of the treaty and the date when the  treaty was signed.
 
Example:

• Printed source
 
Philippines Extradition Treaty with the United States, November 27, 1981.
8 PTS 978      - Source
 
8 cited in the source represents the volume number of the  Philippine Treaty Series and 978 is
the page where the  treaty was  printed.
 
• Electronic Sources:
 
Philippines Extradition Treaty  with the United States, November 27, 1981, Available
at  http://www.lawphil.net/international/treaties/extrad.html  ;  http://
internationalextraditionblog.com/2011/-06/01/philippines-extradition-treaty-with-
the-united-states last visited  December 23, 2014
 
a.4.  Executive/Presidential Issuances
 
Presidential issuances are cited  by the number of the issuance and followed by  the date  of issuance. 
The date  is important for each year, the number      starts with  the first number (No. 1)
 
 a.4.1  Executive Orders
 
 Exec. Order No.  200 (1986)
 
 a.4.2. Proclamations
 
Proc. No. 1081 (1972)
 
 a.4.3. Administrative Orders
 
Adm. Order No. 200  (2005)
 
 A.4.4   There are  special presidential issuances under  Martial law  as follows
 
 a.4.4..1    General Orders
 
Gen. Order No. 1 (1972
 
 a.4.4.2  Letters of Instructions
 
L.O.I.  No. 2 (1972)
 
 a.4.4.3 Letters of Implementation
 
L.O. Impl. No. 1 (1972)
 
 a.4.4.4. Letters of Authority
 
L.O.A. No. 1 (1972)
 
a.5. Administrative Rules and Regulations
Government offices and agencies promulgate their own rules and regulations.  They are cited by the
abbreviation of the name of each agency, followed by the name of the specific rule or regulation.  It is
important to indicate the year in parenthesis for each year, the number of the rules and regulations
start with the first number (No.1)
 
Example: 
 
Administrative Order  No. 1 promulgated by the Department of Energy on January 5, 2006 is thus
cited as:   DOE Adm. Order No. 1 (2006)
SC Adm. Order No. 1 (2005) is the citation for Supreme Court Administrative Order No. 1  adopted  in
2005.
 
Abbreviations as to the names of the Different Government Agencies are through the Acronyms of the
Agencies, which is also reflected in their website address.
 
 Example are as follows:
 
Name of Agency                                                    Abbreviation                        Website Address
Department of Agrarian Reform DAR www.dar.gov.ph

Department of Agriculture DA www.da.gov.ph

Department of Budget  and Management DBM www.dbm.gov.ph

Department of Education DEPED www.deped.gov.ph

Department of Energy DOE www.doe.gov.ph

Department of  Environment and Natural DENR www.denr.gov.ph

Resources           

Department of Finance DOF www.dof.gov.ph

Department of Foreign Affairs DFA www.dfa.gov.ph

Department of Health DOH www.doh.gov.ph

Department of Interior and Local Government DILG www.dilg.gov.ph

Department of Justice DOJ www.doj.gov.ph

Department of Labor and Employment DOLE www.dole.gov.ph

Department of National Defense DND www.dnd.gov.ph

Department of Public Works and Highways DPWH www.dpwh.gov.ph

Department of Science and Technology DOST www.dost.gov.ph

Department of Tourism DOT www.dot.gov.ph

Department of Trade and Industry   DTI www.dti.gov.ph

Department of Social Welfare and Development DSWD www.dswd.gov.ph

 Department of Transportation and DOTC www.dotc.gov.ph
Communications

Civil Service Commission CSC www.csc.gov.ph

Commission on Elections COMELEC www.comelec.gov.ph

Commission on Audit COA www.coa.gov.ph

Commission on Human Rights CHR www.chr.gov.ph

Office of the Solicitor General OSG www.osg.gov.ph

a.6  Ordinances
 
The laws passed by the  city, municipal  or provincial government (local government) are  in the form
of ordinances.  They are cited by providing the name of the       city, municipality or the province,
followed by the ordinance number and the date. 
 
Example:
City ordinance no. 1 of the city of Manila   passed on June 21, 2004 is cited as :  Manila Ordinance No.
1,  June 21, 2004.
 
a.7.  Court  Rules
The Rules of Court is cited  like any ordinary code by its name, followed by the  rule number and
section.  
 
Example:  Rule of Court, Rule 14, sec.1
 
The Supreme Court through the proposal of the  Committee of Revision of Rules Courts been
amended the Rules of Court  by subject, such as Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, Evidence, and
Special Proceedings.  They are now cited by said amendments as follows:
 
• Criminal Procedure, Rule 115, se. 1  (2000) 
• Civil Procedure, Rule  70, sec. 1 (1997)
 
b.  Jurisprudence - Court Decisions
 
b.1. Court decisions from the Supreme Court down to the lower courts can be identified
through their case number and are cited as follows:
• Supreme Court decisions          -  G.R. No.  ____ date of promulgation
• Court of Appeals decisions  - C.A.-G.R. NO. ______-R, CV, CR or SP, date of promulgation
• Sandiganbayan decisions       - Sandiganbayan Crim Case No. _____ date of promulgation
• Court of Tax Appeals decisions – CTA Case No. ______ date of promulgation
•   Metropolitan Trial Courts    -    Me TC (Place & Branch No.)   Civil or Criminal Case No.
____________, date of promulgation
People v. Santiago,  Me TC  (Quezon City,  Branch II) Crim. Case No. 4444, May 10,
2005
•€ Municipal Trial Court s and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts decisions MTC or MCTC
(Place) Criminal or Civil Case No.______, date of promulgation
•€ Shari’ah District and Circuit Courts – Shari’ah Dist/Circ. Ct. (Place)  Case no. , date of
promulgation  
 
For all each decision of the Supreme Court has a specific G.R. No or General Register No.  Each case is
cited with a G.R. No.  The L ( G.R. No. L- ) after the word No.

There are no printed compilation for  Sandiganbayan, Court of Tax Appeals and lower court
decisions.  The full text of important decisions are found in the internet like the decision of the
Sandiganbayan against former President Joseph Estrada.
 
b.1.1.  The citation of  Court decisions depends upon whether  the printed  court reports   are a primary
or a secondary source.
 
Those found in primary sources such as the Philippine Reports or the Official Gazette are  cited by the
family name of the parties, the volume number, Court Report title, page of the court report,  and the
year of  promulgation in parenthesis.
 
Example :   
 
Ong v. People , 399 Phil. 686 (2000)
The Ong case is found in volume 399 of the Philippine Reports page 686
 
Ong v. People , 399 Phil. 686, 688 (2000)
686 is the page where the case started and 688 is the specific page where      the     doctrine used is
found.
 
Those found in secondary sources such as the Supreme Court Reports Annotated (SCRA) are cited by
family name of the parties, case no. (G.R. No.), date of promulgation, volume number of the court
reports  and page.
 
 Example :   

Ong v. People, G.R. No. 139006, November 27, 2000,  346 SCRA 117

b.1.2. The case names are cited using the surnames of the parties
 
Exception this the general rule of using family names are Islamic, Chinese names which are cited in
full. 
 
Those with Christian first names follow the general rule. 
 
Example:   Sy Chin v. Tang Ching Heng & Co., 399 Phil. 442 (2000) 
 
When the party is a company, agency corporation, etc., the complete name must be included.
 
Example: Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority v. Chiongbian, 399 Phil. 695 (2000)
 
When the party is the Government of the Philippines are cited  as follows:
Government v. _____________________,date of promulgation, Source
Commonwealth v. __________________,date of promulgation, Source
Republic v. __________________________,date of promulgation,  Source

In criminal cases wherein the case if filed for the People of the Philippines, it is cited as
People v. ____________________________, date of promulgation, Source
 
b.1.3 Electronic sources are cited as follows:
Ong v. People, G.R. No. 139006, November 27, 2000, Available at http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/
jurisprudence/ (last visited December 23, 2014)
 
 b.2. Administrative decisions
 
Cited by the name of the agency (abbreviated form), case number and date of promulgation   
 
Example is a  Civil Service Commission decisión:
 
Santos v. Dizon, CSC Adm. Case No. 12345, January 6, 2006