Sources of Philippine Laws

B. Statutes

 A statute is an act of legislature as an organized body, expressed in the form, and

passed according to the procedure, required to constitute it as part of the law of the
land.
 A statute may be public or private:
o Public statute – one which binds or affects the public at large or the whole
community. A Public statute may be:
a) General – one which applies to the whole state and operates
throughout the state alike upon all the people or all of a class.
(Example: The Family Code, The Revised Penal Code)
b) Special – one which relates to a particular persons or things of a
class or to a particular community, individual, or thing. (The Magna
Carta for )
c) Local – one whose operation is confined to a specific place or
locality. (Example: Ordinances)
o Private statute – one which applies only to a specific person or subject.