Statutory Construction

Chapter 1. Preliminary Considerations

A. Statutory Construction
a. Definition

- art/process of discovering and expounding the

meaning and intention of the authors of the law
- In applying to a given case
- Where that intention is doubtful d. Situs of Construction & Interpretation (CI)
- Because the given case is not explicitly provided for in
the law

- Seeking the intention of the legislature

- In enacting a statute
- And applying it to a given state of facts

b. Construction vs. Definition

Belong to the Courts of Justice i.e. Supreme Court to:

- Construction: drawing of conclusions beyond the
direct expression of the text, call in the aid of extrinsic
considerations
- Interpretation: discovering the true meaning of the
text, limited to exploring the written text
- If legislative intent is not clear after interpretation, the
court proceeds to subject the stature to construction
- ●
c. Laws vs. Statutes
- settle actual controversies involving rights which are
legally demandable and enforceable
- To determine whether or not there has been a grave
abuse of discretion
Legislation - power to construe/make the law
Judiciary - power to interpret the law
Under Jurisdiction of the Court, if it’s a new law, go
directly to RTC and higher courts
●

e. Subjects of CI

Examples of Statutes that could be subject to

Statutory Construction
1. The Constitution (The 1987 Constitution, The 1973
Constitution, The basic law of the land)
2. The republic acts passed by congress (Like the Batas
Pambansa or the Commonwealth Act)
3. The ordinances passed by the local legislative body
(Which could be the City, Provincial, Municipal, or
even the Barangay) and
4. The orders or rules issued by government
departments (The rules on appeal as issued by the
Department of Justice. The HLURB rules of
procedure. Also the NLRC rules of procedure)
f. Requisites for CI of Law
- Actual case or controversy
- Ambiguity in the law involved
- Ambiguity exists if reasonable persons can
find different meanings in a statute,
document, etc.
- A statute is ambiguous if it is admissible of
two or more possible meanings.
- If the law is clear and unequivocal, the Court has no
other alternative but to apply the law and not to
interpret.
- Construction and interpretation of law come only after
it has been demonstrated that application is
impossible or inadequate without them.
g. Kinds of CI
h. Some Principles of CI:
i. Where the law speaks in clear and categorical
language, there is no room for interpretation,
vacillation, or equivocations, there is room only
for application.
● a) Director of Lands vs. Court of Appeals, G.R. No.
102858, 28 July 1997
- In this case, the law explicitly stated that there should
be publication by means of a newspaper of general
circulation in the Philippines to fulfill the requirement
of procedural due process, hence the LRC cannot
validly confirm and register the title
● b) Barcellano vs. Bañas, G.R. No. 165287, 14
September 2011
- The law is clear in this case, there must first be a
written notice to the family of Bañas under Art. 1623.
- Mere knowledge of the sale, acquired in some other
manner by the redemptioner, does not satisfy the
statute. The written notice was obviously exacted by
the Code to remove all uncertainty as to the sale, its
terms and its validity, and to quiet any doubts that the
alienation is not definitive. The statute not having
provided for any alternative, the method of notification
prescribed remains exclusive.
- Absolute Sentencia Expositore Non Indiget, when the
language of the law is clear, no explanation of it is
required.
ii. When the law is clear, it is not susceptible of
interpretation. It must be applied regardless of
who may be affected, even if the law may be
harsh or erroneous.
● c) Pascual vs. Pascual Bautista, et al. G.R. No.
84240, 25 March 1992
- Iron-curtain rule:
- Art. 992 of the Civil Code provides that “An illegitimate
child has no right to inherit ab intestato from the
legitimate children and relatives of his father or
mother; nor shall such children or relative inherit in
the same manner from the illegitimate child.
Legitimate children and relatives cannot inherit in the
same way from the illegitimate child.”
- Note: The iron curtain rule only applies in intestate
succession. There is a barrier recognized by law
between the legitimate relatives and the illegitimate
child so that one cannot inherit from the other and
vice-versa.
- Rationale: The law presumes the existence of
antagonism between the illegitimate child and the
legitimate relatives of his parents.
-
iii. The first and fundamental duty of the Courts is
to apply the law.
● d) People vs. Mapa, G.R. No. L-22301, 30 August
1967
- The law cannot be any clearer. No provision is made
for a secret agent. As such he is not exempt. Our task
is equally clear. The first and fundamental duty of
courts is to apply the law. “Construction and
 interpretation come only after it has been
demonstrated that application is impossible or
inadequate without them.” The conviction of the
accused must stand. It cannot be set aside.

● e) Resins, Inc. vs. Auditor General of the Philippines,

G.R. No. L-17888, 29 October 1968
- A refund undoubtedly partakes of a nature of an
exemption, hence it cannot be allowed unless granted
in the most explicit and categorical language. In the
instant case, separate importation of urea and
formaldehyde cannot be construed as the same with
the RA 2609 provision which exempts importation of
urea formaldehyde.
- For nothing is better settled than that the first and
fundamental duty of courts is to apply the law as they
find it, not as they would like it to be. Fidelity to such a
task precludes construction or interpretation, unless
application is impossible or inadequate without it.

iv. The duty of the Courts is to apply the law

disregarding their feeling of sympathy or pity
for the accused.
● f) People vs. Amigo, G.R. No. 116719, 18 January
1996
- Accused-appellant claims that the penalty of reclusion
perpetua is too cruel and harsh a penalty and pleads
for sympathy. Courts are not the forum to plead for
sympathy. The duty of courts is to apply the law,
disregarding their feeling of sympathy or pity for an
accused. DURA LEX SED LEX.

● g) People vs. Delmo, et al., G.R. Nos. 130078-82, 04

October 2020
- Under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code, as
amended by Republic Act No. 7659, murder is
penalized with reclusion perpetua to death. There
being no aggravating nor mitigating circumstances,
for each count of murder the lesser penalty of
reclusion perpetua must be imposed against
appellants Maximo Delmo, Edmund Delmo, and
Francisco Lapiz, pursuant to Article 63 of the Revised
Penal Code.
- The penalty to be imposed upon the principals in a
frustrated murder case, following Article 50 of the
Revised Penal Code, shall be that "next lower in
degree than that prescribed by law for the
consummated penalty."
-
Chapter 2. Statutes
A. Birth of a Law

- Bill: draft of a proposed law from the time of its

introduction in a legislative body through all the
various stages in both houses
- Act: after the bill has been acted on and passed by
the legislature, it then becomes a statute
- Statute: the written will of the legislature solemnly
expressed according to the form necessary to
constitute it as the law of the state.
-

B. Constitutional Test in Passage of a Bill

a. Remman Enterprise, Inc. vs. Professional Regulatory

Board of Estate, G.R. No. 197676, 04 February 2014
- To determine whether there has been compliance with
the constitutional requirement that the subject of an
act shall be expressed in its title, the Court laid down
the rule that –
Constitutional provisions relating to the subject matter and
titles of statutes should not be so narrowly construed as to
cripple or impede the power of legislation. The requirement
that the subject of an act shall be expressed in its title should
receive a reasonable and not a technical construction. It is
sufficient if the title be comprehensive enough reasonably to
include the general object which a statute seeks to effect,
without expressing each and every end and means necessary
or convenient for the accomplishing of that object. Mere details
need not be set forth. The title need not be an abstract or index
of the Act.
- The Court has previously ruled that the one-subject
requirement under the Constitution is satisfied if all
the parts of the statute are related, and are
germane to the subject matter expressed in the
title, or as long as they are not inconsistent with
or foreign to the general subject and title. An act
having a single general subject, indicated in the title,
may contain any number of provisions, no matter how
diverse they may be, so long as they are not
inconsistent with or foreign to the general subject, and
may be considered in furtherance of such subject by
providing for the method and means of carrying out
the general object
- It is also well-settled that the "one title-one subject"
rule does not require the Congress to employ in the
title of the enactment language of such precision as to
mirror, fully index or catalogue all the contents and the
minute details therein. The rule is sufficiently complied
with if the title is comprehensive enough as to include
the general object which the statute seeks to effect.

C. Parts of a Statute [TPEBRES2E]

- Examples:
- General law: A citizen's responsibility for
paying taxes, following rules of the road
while driving, and the use of business
licenses are each examples of relationships
between citizens and government covered
by general law. (i.e.Republic Act No. 4136
Land Transportation and Traffic Code,
TRAIN law)
D. Kinds of Statute - Special law: Special penal laws (i.e.
Republic Act No. 9346 - An Act Prohibiting
the Imposition of Death Penalty in the
Philippines, Republic Act No. 10175 or
“Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012)
- Local law: ordinances and resolutions issued
by the LGU
- Public law: Public law comprises
constitutional law, administrative law, tax law
and criminal law. In public law, mandatory
rules prevail.
- Private law: It includes the law of property
and trust, family law, the law of contract,
mercantile law and the law of tort
- Remedial statute: Remedial law is mostly in
the Rules of Court. Circulars of the Supreme
Court implementing the Rules of Court are
also sources of remedial law.
- Curative: RA 7641 (An Act Amending Article
287 Of Presidential Decree No. 442, As
Amended, Otherwise Known As The Labor
 Code Of The Philippines, By Providing For
Retirement Pay To Qualified Private Sector
Employees In The Absence Of Any
Retirement Plan In The Establishment) is a
curative social legislation. By their nature,
curative statutes may be given retroactive
effect, unless it impairs vested rights.
- Penal: RPC
- Prospective: TRAIN Law, Penal statutes, in
general, Special penal laws
- Retrospective: Procedural laws, as long as it
does not affect vested rights, penal laws that
is in favor of the accused
- Affirmative statute: RA 9710 Magna Carta of
Women
- Mandatory statute: Republic Act No. 8750
Seat Belts Use Act of 1999 F. How Statutes Are Repealed
E. Concept of Vague Statutes
G. Ordinance

H. Application of Foreign Jurisprudence

i. Test of Valid Ordinance

i. Doctrine of Processual Presumption

Doctrine of Processual Presumption – The foreign law,
whenever applicable, should be proved by the
proponent thereof, otherwise, such law shall be
presumed to be exactly the same as the law of the
forum.

b. Del Socorro vs. Van Wilsem, GR No. 193797, 10

- In view of respondent’s failure to prove the national
ii. Ordinance cannot contravene statute
December 2014
law of the Netherlands in his favor, the doctrine of
processual presumption shall govern. Under this
doctrine, if the foreign law involved is not properly
pleaded and proved, our courts will presume that the
foreign law is the same as our local or domestic or
internal law. Thus, since the law of the Netherlands as
regards the obligation to support has not been
properly pleaded and proved in the instant case, it is
presumed to be the same with Philippine law, which
enforces the obligation of parents to support their
children and penalizing the noncompliance therewith.
Chapter 3. Guidelines in Construction & Interpretation
A. Legislative Intent

a. Ramirez vs. CA, GR No. 93833, 25 September 1995

- Legislative intent is determined principally from
the language of a statute.—First, legislative intent is
determined principally from the language of a statute.
Where the language of a statute is clear and
unambiguous, the law is applied according to its
express terms, and interpretation would be resorted to
only where a literal interpretation would be either
impossible or absurd or would lead to an injustice.
- Where the law makes no distinctions, one does not
distinguish.—The unambiguity of the express words
of the provision, taken together with the above-quoted
deliberations from the Congressional Record,
therefore plainly supports the view held by the
respondent court that the provision seeks to penalize
even those privy to the private communications.
Where the law makes no distinctions, one does not
distinguish.
B. Verba Legis or Plain Meaning Rule

b. Request of CA Justices for Computation/Adjustment of

Longevity Pay, 8-07-CA 16 June 2015, AM No.
12-9-5-SC, AM No. 13-02-07-SC
-
c. Globe-Mackay vs. NLRC, GR No. 82511, 03 March
1992
d. Basbacio vs. Office of the Secretary, GR No. 109445,
07 November 1994

C. Statutes as a Whole
e. JMM Promotions & Management, Inc. vs. NLRC, GR No.
109835, 22 November 1993

f. Radiola Toshiba Philippines, Inc. vs. IAC, GR No. 75222,

18 July 1991
D. Spirit & Purpose of the Law

f. De Guia vs. COMELEC, GR No. 104712, 06 May 1992

g. Salenillas vs. CA, GR No. 78687, 31 January 1989
h. B/Gen. Commendador, et al. vs. Gen. De Villa, GR No.
96948, 02 August 1991
E. Doctrine of Necessary Implications

i. Chua vs. CSC, GR No. 88979, 07 February 1992

j. City of Manila vs. Judge Gomez, GR No. L-37251, 31
August 1981
F. Rule of Casus Omissus

k. People vs. Manantan, GR No L-14129, 31 July 1962

G. Doctrine of Stare Decisis

l. J.M. Tuason and Co. Inc. et al, vs. Mariano, GR No.

L-33140, 23 October 1978

m. Arnado vs. COMELEC, GR No. 210164, 18 August 2015