Tanada v.

Tuvera 136 SCRA 27

ISSUE: Whether or not the statutes in question which contain special provisions as to the date
they are to take effect still needs to be published in the Official Gazette.
FACTS: Petitioners herein are seeking a writ of mandamus to compel public officials to publish
and/or cause the publication in the Official Gazette of various presidential decrees, letters of
instructions, general orders, proclamations, executive orders, letters of implementation, and
administrative orders. Respondents, on the other hand, claimed that this case has no legal
personality or standing. Further, they argued that the publication in the Official Gazette in
necessary for the effectivity of the law where the law themselves provides for their own
effectivity dates
DECISION: Granted
RATIO DECIDENDI: Publication in the Official Gazette is necessary in those cases where the
legislation itself does not provide for its effectivity date, for then the date of publication is
material for determining the date of the effectivity which must be 15 days following the
completion of its publication, but not when the law itself provides for the date when it goes to
effect. Publication of laws is part of substantive due process

Tanada vs. Tuvera 146 SCRA 446

ISSUE: Whether or not the various PDs etc must be published before they shall take effect.

FACTS:
Invoking the people’s right to be informed on matters of public concerns as well as the principle
that laws to be valid and enforceable they must be published in the Official Gazette or otherwise
effectively promulgated. Tañada et. al. seek a writ of mandamus to compel Tuvera to publish
and/or to cause the publication in the Official Gazette of various Presidential Decrees (PDs),
Letters of Instructions (LOIs), Proclamations (PPs), Executive Orders (EOs), and Administrative
Orders (AOs).

DECISION: Granted
RATIO DECIDENDI: The Supreme Court held that the fact that a PD or LOI states its date of
effectivity does not preclude their publication in the Official Gazette as they constitute important
legislative acts, particularly in the present case where the president may on his own issue laws.
The clear objective of this provision is to give the public general adequate notice of the various
laws which are to regulate their actions and conduct. Without such notice and publication, there
would be no basis for the application of the maxim, “ignorantia legis non excusat”. Publication
is indispensable.