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Chapter I

Administrative Law - controls administrative operations.

4 Kinds of Administrative Law:

• statutes setting up administration authorities

• body of doctrines and decisions dealing with the creation, operation, and effects of determinations
and regulations of such administrative authorities

• rules, regulations, or orders of such administrative authorities in pursuance of the purposes of

administration

• determinations, decisions, and orders of such administrative authorities in the settlement of

controversies

Administrative Functions - regulation and control over the conduct and affairs of individuals for their
own welfare and promulgation of rules and regulations to better carry out the policy.

Government of the Republic of the Philippines - corporate governmental entity through which the
functions of government are exercised

Agency of the Government - any of the various units of government (department, bureau, office,
instrumentality, GOCC, or LGU)

Instrumentality

- any agency of the National Government

- vested with special functions

- regulatory agencies, institutes, GOCCs

- anything used as a means or agency

- has the authority which the State delegates governmental power for State function

- referred to as "legal personality"

- may be incorporated or non-incorporated

Incorporated

- with or without capital stock

- vested by law with juridical personality distinct from the personality of the Republic of the Philippines

- Examples are National Power Corporation, Philippine Ports Authority, National Housing Authority,
Philippine National Oil Company
 Non-Incorporated

- not vested with juridical personality distinct from the Republic

- endowed by law with some/all corporate powers

- Example is Sugar Regulatory Administration (which is not a GOCC but an agency under the Office of the
President)

Chartered Institutions - any agency operating under specific charters and vested by law with
functions relating to specific constitutional policies/objectives.

Administration - public officers/employees who perform the duties and exercise the powers of the
government.

Creation and Abolition of Agencies

Public Office

- functional unit of government or position occupied by individuals

- it is a public trust

- may be created by the Constitution or by the Congress

Constitutional Offices:

• Commission on Election

• Civil Service Commission

• Commission on Audit

• Office of the Ombudsman

• National Economic and Development Authority

• Commission on Human Rights

• National Police Commission

‼️ Constitutional offices are legislative function and cannot be abolished.

Power to recognize includes power to create or abolish offices

- legislature exercises this power by authorizing reorganization.

Reorganization

- process of restructuring bureaucracy's organizational and functional set up for its betterment.

- used by legislature to abolish or reorganize all offices, including lower courts except those created by
the Constitution.
 Reasons for the creation of administrative agencies

- because of the multiplication of the problems in the society

1. To unclog court dockets

2. To meet the growing complexities of modern society

3. To help in the regulation of ramified activities of a developing country

4. To entrust specialized agencies in special fields with their special knowledge

Common types of administrative bodies:

1. Agencies created to function when the government offers special privileges. (GSIS, SSS)

2. Agencies seeking to carry on certain governmental functions. (BIR, CSC)

3. Agencies when government is performing business service for public. (PNR)

4. Agencies seeking to regulate business affected by public interest. (Philippines Patent Office)

5. Agencies seeking under the police power to regulate business and individuals. (SEC, PRC)

6. Agencies seeking to adjust individual controversies because of strong social policy involved. (Women
and Minors Bureau)

7. Agencies seeking to conduct investigations. (CHR, NBI)

Chapter II - Powers of Administrative Agencies

- doctrine of separation of powers based on system of checks and balances designed to prevent
concentration (or abuse) of powers.

Administrative agencies

- falls under the executive branch of government

- may have be granted by legislature with administrative, executive, investigatory, legislative, or judicial
powers or even a combination of these, as an exemption to the general rule against delegation of power

2 most important powers of administrative officers:

1. Quasi-legislative

- enables to promulgate implementing rules and regulations

2. Quasi-judicial

- enables them to apply and interpret rules and regulations

‼️ These are the reasons why Administrative Law was acknowledged as a new classification of law.
 Vesture of powers liberally construed

- settled principle of law that in determining administrative agency has certain powers, inquiry should be
from the law itself

- purpose of why it was created, must be germane to the law

Liberal construction - adopted to enable administrative agencies to discharge their assigned duties
according to its legislative purpose.

‼️ The powers of administrative agencies are either express or implied, discretionary and ministerial, or
directory and mandatory.

Express and Implied Powers

Public officials

- possess powers, not rights

- law is the supreme power but public officials shall accept and participate in its functions

- exercise powers within the law which grants it

- wise agents entrusted with responsibility of discharging its functions

- BUT they are not automatically empowered to act, there must be a delegation of authority, either
express or implied

- unlike for constitutional officials who has the right to act to the fundamental law itself, a public official
must locate in the statute relied upon a grant of power before he can exercise it

Government - agency through which the will of the State is expressed and enforced

Grant of jurisdiction and what is implied therefrom

- to hear and decide cases, an adjudicatory power by the Constitution or by statute

- administrative agency cannot grant itself jurisdiction to decide a particular matter by issuing the
appropriate rules and regulations, thru quasi-legislative power

- the grant of quasi-judicial power to try actions carries with it all necessary and incidental powers to
employ all writs, processes, and other means essential to make its jurisdiction effective

- unless the enabling law provides otherwise, a quasi-judicial body has the power to issue a writ of
execution for the enforcement of its decision

- exercise of judicial power requires rules of procedure of administrative agency

- quasi-judicial power has the power to issue and promulgate riles of procedure for proper exercise of its
adjudicatory power

Ministerial and discretionary powers

 Ministerial duty

- so clear and specific as to leave no room for the exercise of discretion in its performance

- it is purely ministerial act when one performs in a given state of facts, in prescribed manner, obedience
to mandate of legal authority, without bias

- requires no exercise of official discretion of judgment

- mandamus may lie to compel performance

Discretionary duty

- when the law imposes a duty upon a public officer, and gives him the right to decide how and when
the duty shall be performed

- by its nature, requires the exercise of judgment

- a petition for certiorari may lie where there is grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack of
jurisdiction on the part of the official or administrative agency

- an official may decide a question and may still be right

- when applied to public functions, a power or right conferred upon them by law of acting officially,
under certain circumstances, uncontrolled by the judgment or conscience of others

- may not be delegated

- sound discretion exercised not arbitrarily or willfully, but with regard to what is right and equitable

Mandatory and permissive duties and powers

- to find out whether a duty or power invested upon an administrative agency is mandatory or
permissive depends upon the kind of statute which granted such power

- statutes may be classified as either mandatory or directory

Mandatory statute

- commands either positively that something be done or performed in particular way or negatively be
not done, leaving the concerned person no choice but to obey

- contains words of command or prohibition

Directory statute

- permissive or discretionary in nature

- no injury can result from ignoring it

- to ascertain the consequences that will follow in case what the statute requires is not done or what it
forbids is performed test the nature of statute and its power

- whether a statutory requirement is mandatory or directory depends on its effect.

 Errors in exercise of powers

Government not bound by errors of public officers

‼️ government can do no wrong

- if one commits mistake, he alone is liable

- mistakes of government personnel should not affect public interest

- a public official sued in his private or personal capacity for acts done beyond the scope of his authority
while discharging official function cannot invoke the doctrine of state immunity from suit for this
doctrine cannot be used as an instrument for perpetrating an injustice

Government is not estopped by mistakes of officers

- the government can subsequently correct the mistake or the erroneous application of the law

Taxes - lifeblood of the nation through which the government agencies continue to operate and with
which the government agencies continue to operate and with which the State affects its functions for
the welfare of its constituents

- the errors of certain administrative officers should never be allowed to jeopardize the Government's
financial position

Presumption of regularity

- government officials are presumed to perform their functions right unless a strong evidence that they
do not occurs