Republic of the Philippines

LAGUNA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY

College of Teacher Education
Province of Laguna

Ignorance of the law excuses no one from

compliance therewith.
(Art. 3 of RA No. 386 “Civil Code of the Philippines”)
How Laws Are Designated
The designation of Philippine laws varies. Every form of government that was
established in this country brought its own way of calling the laws or statutory
enactments during its regime.
These designations are as follows:
Acts.These were the laws passed by the Philippine Commission and, later, by the
Philippine Legislature as the upper house and the Philippine Assembly, which was
established in 1907, as the lower house. Examples of these statutory enactments are
Act No. 74, which was passed in 1901 by the Philippine Commission establishing a
centralized public school system of free primary instruction, and Act No. 1870 which
was passed in 1908 by the Philippine Legislature creating the University of the
Philippines.
Commonwealth Acts (Com. Acts or C.A.). These were the statutory enactments
during the commonwealth period which started from 1935 until 1945. An example of
these laws in Com. Act No. 586, otherwise known as the Education Act of 1940.
Republic Acts (Rep. Act or R.A.).A Republic Act is a piece of legislation used to create
policy in order to carry out the principles of the Constitution. It is crafted and passed by
the Congress of the Philippines and approved by the President of Philippines. It can only
be repealed by a similar act of Congress.
These are the laws passed by the Philippine Congress of the Republic of the Philippines
which followed the Commonwealth period and by Philippine Congress in the Philippine
Republic under the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
Presidential Decree (P.D.). When President Ferdinand E. Marcos declared martial law
under Proclamation No. 1081, he abolished the Philippine Congress. In the absence of
the state legislature, President Marcos exercised the legislative powers and enacted
laws which he called Presidential Dee legislative powers and enacted laws which he
called Presidential Decrees.
Presidential Decrees were an innovation made by President Ferdinand E. Marcos with
the proclamation of Martial Law. They served to arrogate unto the Chief Executive the
lawmaking powers of Congress. Only President Marcos issued Presidential Decrees. In
the Freedom Constitution of 1986, President Corazon C. Aquino recognized the validity
of existing Presidential Decrees unless otherwise repealed.
Batas Pambansa (B.P.). During the latter part of his rule which he called
constitutional authoritarianism. President Marcos announced the lifting of Martial Law
and allowed the election in each designated political district of a representative, known
as an assemblyman, to a unicameral state legislature known as the Batasang Panbansa.
The passed by the Batasang Pambansa are known as Batas Pambansa (B.P.). Notable
among these laws are BP Blg. 22 (The Bouncing Check Law) and BP Blg. 232 (An Act
Providing For the Establishment and Maintenance Integrated System of Education,
otherwise known as Education Act of 1982.
Executive Orders (E.O.). Acts of the President providing for rules of a general or
permanent character in implementation or execution of constitutional or statutory
powers shall be promulgated in executive orders. Administrative Code of 1987, Book
III, Chapter 2, Section 2.
President Corazon C. Aquino enacted laws in her exercise of the legislative powers of the
state in the absence of the state legislature. These laws are known as Executive Orders.
Thus, we have as examples Executive Order No. 189 (Placing All Public Secondary
School Teachers Under The National Fund) and Executive Order 292 (Administrative
Code of 1987)
Administrative Orders (A.O.)Acts of the President which relate to particular aspects
of governmental operations in pursuance of his duties as administrative head shall be
promulgated in administrative orders.
Administrative Code of 1987, Book III, Chapter 2, Section 3
Proclamations Acts of the President fixing a date or declaring a status or condition of
public moment or interest, upon the existence of which the operation of a specific law or
regulation is made to depend, shall be promulgated in proclamations which shall have
the force of an executive order. Administrative Code of 1987, Book III, Chapter 2,
Section 4.
Memorandum Orders (M.O.) Acts of the President on matters of administrative detail
or of subordinate or temporary interest which only concern a particular officer or office
of the Government shall be embodied in memorandum orders.Administrative Code of
1987, Book III, Chapter 2, Section 5
Memorandum Circulars (M.C.) Acts of the President on matters relating to internal
administration, which the President desires to bring to the attention of all or some of the
departments, agencies, bureaus or offices of the Government, for information or
compliance, shall be embodied in memorandum circulars.”
Administrative Code of 1987, Book III, Chapter 2, Section 6
Special Orders Acts and commands of the President in his capacity as Commander-in-
Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines shall be issued as general or special orders.
Administrative Code of 1987, Book III, Chapter 2, Section 7
Sources of Educational Laws

 The Constitution. The foremost or fundamental legal basis of education in the

Philippines is the Philippine Constitution. Being the fundamental Charter, it the
fundamental source of educational laws. All other sources of educational laws are
of the lower category; hence, there provisions should not in any way contravene
any of the provisions of the Constitution. Otherwise, these may be questioned
and consequently declared by the courts as unconstitutional.
A Constitution is known as the fundamental or highest law of the land to which
all other laws of the must conform.

 Statutes. A statute, as explained by the Philippine Legal Encyclopedia, is a law

duly passed by a legislature. It is an act of the legislative power. It the written
will of the legislature, solemnly expressed according to the forms necessary to
constitute it as the law of the state.

 Ordinances. These are the official legislative acts of the local legislative bodies
of local government units, such as the provinces, cities and municipalities, pass
ordinances which are applicable only in there respective jurisdiction, which my be
educational in nature and substance. Ordinances are the official legislative acts of
local legislative bodies.
The provisions of an ordinance must not be violative of any provision of a statute
or the constitution.

 Resolutions. It is simply a formal written expression of the collective sentiments

of the members of the organization, which maybe a national or local legislative
 body or any other formal organization. The Black’s Law Dictionary defines a
resolution as a formal expression of the opinion or will of an official body or a
public assembly, adopted by vote as a legislative resolution. An example is a
resolution requesting a certain public official to do a certain official act, or simply
a resolution of support, condolence, recognition or appreciation.

 Supreme Court Decisions. Supreme Court decisions such as those in cases

involving issues pertinent to education are also sources of educational laws.
Supreme Court decisions are stare decisis, meaning “to stand by that which
decided”, and are therefore jurisprudence. These are considered as part of the
law of the land. For as long as the Supreme Court does not reverse itself in a
more recent case, no contradictory decision is to be rendered by any lower court
in a pending case before it with a similar set of facts.

 Opinions. Opinions of the secretary of Justice are given weight until these are
modified or nullified by the Supreme Court in a decision it renders in a case
before it.

 Service Manual. This is a regulatory document issued by the education

department based on the legal authority given it and, therefore, has the force
and effect of law. An example is the 1960 Service Manual of the then Bureau of
Public Schools, which contains regulations affecting classroom teachers, school
executives, functions and policies in the public schools. A new Service Manual,
which is DECS Service Manual 2000, issued by the then Department of Education
Culture and Sports, which also covers private schools, has supplemented the old
Service Manual.

 Manual of Regulations for Private Schools. This is another regulatory

documents in education issued pursuant to the pertinent provisions of the 1987
Philippine Constitution, Act No. 2706 is the private school law as amended by Act
No. 3075, Commonwealth Act No. 180, Batas Pambansa Blg. 232 and other
applicable legislations. It provides the rules and regulations governing the
conduct and operation of private schools from elementary to tertiary levels in the
educational ladder.
Likewise, from time to time as may be necessary, the Secretary of
Education as well as the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) may issue
pertinent orders, administrative orders, circulars and memoranda which have the
force and effect of law. These regulatory issuance s, as sources of educational
laws, are premised on the assumption that there are issued as a valid exercise of
an authority granted by law.

 DepEd Orders. These are the issuances on policies, guidelines or regulation

which are generally permanent in nature and are in effect until rescinded.

 DepEd Memoranda. These are the inssuances containinhg cetain institutions

and information which are temporary in nature and are usually applicable only
during the year of issuance. These include announcement of conferences,
seminars, examinations, surveys, competitions and deliberations.

 A Circular, which is issued by a department head, deals with manners that are
more or less permanent in nature and have the force and effect of law, while a
memorandum deals with manners that are more or less temporary in nature.

 A Bulletin is informational in nature and disseminates information, such as

result of a certain educational experiment or survey conducted elsewhere in the
country.
References:
http://www.gov.ph/
Laws on Education In The Philippines by: By Romeo B. Natino (A.B., B.S.E.Ed.,L.L.B., M.A.,
Ed.D.) Practicing Layer/Professor of Education
Teacher Induction Program. Module ! Educational Laws and Projects of Department of
Education
August V. Tuiza, Ed.D.
LSPU-Main Campus, Sta. Cruz, Laguna