Group 2 municipal legislations, court

rules, administrative rules and

LEGAL SYSTEM orders, legislative rules and
issuances of government
3.1. Nature of the Philippine Legal System agencies including
government-controlled
Philippine Legal System corporations

 A unique legal system

 Blend of civil law, common law, Muslim law, and JURISPRUDENCE Cases decided or written
indigenous law. (CASE LAW) opinion by courts and by
o Civil law (Roman) is from the Spanish; persons performing judicial
o Common law is from the American functions
influence; and
o Muslim (Islamic) law has been in the country Included all rulings in
before Spanish conquest. administrative and legislative
tribunals such as decisions
Difference of Philippine and American made by:
Common Law
Presidential Electoral Tribunal
“treachery” (PET)
American Philippines - Decides on election
“a deliberate and protests for the
willful betrayal of trust President and Vice
and confidence” President
(Black’s Law - Members: Justices of
Dictionary) the Supreme Court
“needed to
“Treachery Act of 1940
determine whether Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET)
or an offense during
the crime is murder - Responsible for contests
World War II”
or homicide” or cases involving the
(A Dictionary of Law,
(Article 14, Revised election, returns, and
Oxford Reference)
Penal Code of the qualifications of the
“violation of
Philippines) Members of the Senate
allegiance or of faith
- Chairperson: most
and confidence:
senior Associate Justice
treason; an act of
of Supreme Court;
perfidy or treason”
Members: three
(Merriam-Webster)
Justices of the Supreme
Court chosen by Chief
Justice and six
members who are
3.2. SOURCES OF LAW
senators chosen on the
STATUTES The written enactment of the
basis of proportional
(STATUTORY LAW) will of the legislative branch of
representation from
the government rendered
political parties
authentic by certain
represented in the
prescribed forms or solemnities.
Senate
Enactment of Congress
House of Representatives
Electoral Tribunal
Two types: (1) Constitution; and
- Responsible for contests
(2) legislative enactments
or cases involving the
election, returns, and
It includes constitutions,
qualifications of the
treaties, statutes proper or
Members of the House
legislative enactments,
of Representatives
executive/presidential
- Chairperson: senior
issuances, municipal charters,
 Associate Justice of  Decisions of the Supreme Court ,
Supreme Court; appellate courts, lower court and other
Members: three quasi-judicial agencies.
Justices of the Supreme  Treaties entered into by the Philippines
Court chosen by Chief
Justice and six  Primary Authority or Sources may be further
members who are subdivided into two: MANDATORY AND
members of the House
PERSUASIVE
of Representatives
- Mandatory primary authority – law
chosen on the basis of
created where the law operates
proportional
representation from the - Persuasive mandatory authority – law
political parties created by other jurisdiction but have
represented in the persuasive value to Philippine Courts.
House - used only when there are no Philippine
authorities available
MUSLIM LAW Primary sources of Shari’a are - examples are Spanish and American
Quran, Sunnaqh, Ijma, and law
Qiyas
 SECONDARY AUTHORITY OR SOURCES –
New sources, which some These are not binding to Courts but have
jurists rejected: Istihsan (juristic persuasive effect.
preference); Al-Masalih, Al - These refer to commentaries, books,
Mursalah (public interest); writings or treaties which discuss or
Istidlal (custom); and Istishab
comment on the primary authorities.
(deduction based on
However, it is important to consider
continuity or permanence)
here the expertise/reputation of the
author.
- These also refer to the opinions of the
Department of Justice, Securities
and Exchange Commission or
3.3 CLASSIFICATION OF LEGAL SOURCES circulars of Bangko Sentral ng
Pilipinas.

3.3.1 CLASSIFICATION BY AUTHORITY – Legal Sources

by Authority is divided into: PRIMARY AND 3.3.2 CLASSIFICATION BY SOURCE: Sources of
SECONDARY materials are taken from (1) Primary (Official)
Sources and (2) Secondary (Unofficial) Sources.

Primary Sources - are those published by the issuing

PRIMARY AUTHORITY - The only authority that is
agency itself or the official
binding on the courts.
repository, the Official Gazette.
 The actual law/decision of the executive,
Official Gazette - printed weekly by the National
legislative and judiciary branch of
Printing Office (NPO), contains
government
legislative and executive
 Refer to the two sources of law which
include: enactments, selected Supreme
 Constitution Court and Court of Appeals
 Legislative Statutes or those passed by decisions, rules and regulations of
the Congress (e.g. Act, Commonwealth government agencies and legal
Act, Republic Act and Batas Pambansa) notices.
 Executive or Presidential Issuances (e.g.
- Official Gazette Online
Presidential Decrees, Executive Orders,
(www.gov.ph) was launched by
Memorandum Circular, Administrative
Orders, etc.) the Office of the President on July
2010 and managed by the
 Presidential Communications
Development and Strategic
Management Office (PCDSMO).
Primary Sources of Republic Acts and other
legislative enactments or Statutes: (1) Official
Gazette published by NPO, (2) online version of the
PCDSMO, and (3) Laws and Resolutions published
by Congress.
Primary Sources of Supreme Court Decisions: (1)
Philippine Reports, (2) individually mimeographed
Advance Supreme Court decisions, (3) Official
Gazette
Secondary Sources
- are the unofficial sources and are generally
referred to as those commercially or those
that are not published by the government
agencies or instrumentalities issuing them.
Samples of Secondary Sources:
(1) Vital Legal Documents - published by
Central Book Supply, contains Presidential Decrees
(1973)
(2) Books by Professor Sulpicio Guevara
namely Public Laws Annotated (1901-1935),
Commonwealth Acts Annotated (1935-
1945), Laws of the First Philippine Republic
(The Laws of Malolos, 1898-1899)
(3) Philippine Permanent and General
Statutes by UP College of Law
Supreme Court Decisions Annotated (SCRA)
- is a secondary source for it is a commercial
publication
- was published because of the delay in the
printing of Philippine Reports by the NPO
(the official printer of the Philippine
government)
New information technology, electronic or digitized
sources are popular and effective sources of legal
information for the following reasons: (1) complete
and updated legal information (laws and court
decisions), (2) the search engines utilizing the
electronic or digitized method facilitate research,
and (3) complete and updated manually published
search tools or law finders for statute and case law.
Supreme Court e-Library
- online electronic library for all Philippine
legal information, case law and statute
law from 1901 to present, treaties, bilateral
and multilateral treaties, entered into by
the Philippines in 1946 to 2010.
- has full text of reference materials such as
the Manuals of Clerks of the Court, Manual
of Legal Writing, Law List or List of Lawyers
in the Rolls of Attorneys in the Supreme
Courts.
- access is limited to Justices, Judges, and
Court Attorneys of the Supreme Court and
law schools (by request) through their
librarians.
Judiciary Portal (www.judiciary.gov.ph)
- where decisions and issuances of the
Supreme Court and its Offices and
Appellate Courts are found.
Chanrobles.com - has database full text of
Philippine legal information
- has United States laws and decisions
and important legal materials such as
impeachment proceedings and bar
examinations.
Lawphil - database of Arellano Law Foundation
Commercial Websites
(1) CD Asia - an electronic legal source of
Philippine legal information both online and CD
versions.
(2) e-SCRA - an electronic source of full text
decisions of Philippine Supreme Court decisions
from 1901 – present.
LEXIS AND WESTLAW – used for foreign laws,
WESTLAW’s request to publish Supreme Court
decisions has been approved while LEXIS’s is still
pending.
Classification of online sources:
(1) They are considered as Secondary Sources (If
they are Word File)
(2) Primary Sources (if in PDF Form, actual
document with all signatures from issuing body)
(3) They can be Primary and Secondary Sources (if
they have both PDF and Word File)
http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/
- website which is the primary source for
the decisions of the Supreme Court.
National Administrative Register (NAR)
- of the University of the Philippines Law
Center was the result of the Administrative
Code of 1987 which required all
government agencies including
government-owned and controlled
corporations to provide the UP Law Center
with three certified copies of their issuances
which they print in the NAR.
3.3.3 Classification by Character
 Refers to the nature of subjects treated in
books
 Categorizes books as A) Statute Law Books
B) Case Law Books C) A combination of
Both D) Law Digests and E) Law Finders
Law Finders - refers to indexes, citators,
encyclopedias, legal dictionaries, thesauri or
digests.
In the Philippines, one of the major problems is that
there are no up to date Law Finders.
Example of Law Finders: Federico Moreno’s
Philippine Law Dictionary, last published in 1988,
Jose Agaton Sibal, Philippine Legal Thesaurus,
published 1986.
Lack of up to date Law Finders were solved by the
availability of electronic resources whether online or
in CD versions.
Example of Online Sources: Supreme Court e-
Library, Chan Robles Virtual Library and Arellano’s
LawPhil.
Effective and accurate legal research can be
conducted with one cardinal rule,
“ALWAYS START FROM THE LATEST.”
Exception to this rule is when the research has
defined or provided a SPECIFIC period.
Guide in conducting a complete thorough
research, can be outlined with a formula
involving 4Ws and H: Who, What, Where,
When and How, it shoul be followed by “Things,
Actions, Relief, Sought, Persons, Places”
Results between a Manual legal and an electronic
legal research may be the same but doing a legal
research via electrical means is much faster.
4.1. RESEARCH OF STATUTE LAW
WHAT ARE STATUTE LAWS?
Statute Laws are rules and regulations promulgated
by competent authorities.
WHAT ARE THE KINDS OF STATUTE LAWS?
- Enactment of National {Congress} and
Local Legislative Bodies {Municipal,
Provincial and City Councils}
- Executive or Presidential Issuances
- Rules and Regulations of Administrative
Agencies or Government Bureaus
- Judicial Agencies
HOW TO RESEARCH STATUTORY LAW?
Research of Statutory Law does not end
with consulting the law itself. It extends to the
legislative intent of each provision or even the
words used in the law as to how it was given
context by the framers of the law. In this regard,
even the actual deliberations of these laws must
also be consulted.
4.1.1 THE CONSTITUTION
A. The Philippine Legal System Recognizes the
following Constitutions:
- Malolos Constitution {Ratified after
Declaration of Independence from Spain}
- 1935 Constitution {Ratified with the birth of
the Philippine Commonwealth]
- 1943 Constitution {Effective only during the
Japanese Occupation during World WAR 2}
- 1973 Constitution {Effective during the
Martial Law Period of President Ferdinand
Marcos}
- The Freedom Constitution {Transitional
Constitution used by President Corazon
Aquino after the EDSA Revolution
- 1987 Constitution {effective since Feb 11,
1987 to Present}
B. Where to look for them?
 - Majority of the available printed
publications provide the the 1935, 1973 and
1987 Constitution.
- The Books of Ambrosio Padilla and Carmelo
Sison provide for a comparative
presentation of the 1935, 1973 and 1987
Constitution
- Online sources such as LAWPHIL, Chan
Robles Website, CD Asia and Law Juan
have the full text of all the Constitutions of
the Philippines.
C. Where can we find the intent and
background of each provision of the
Constitution?
- The intent and background of the
Constitution can be taken from the
proceedings, debates and deliberation of
the members of the Constitutional
Convention.
D. Where can we see the archives of the
various Constitutional Convention
proceedings?
- These can be found in the House of
Representatives except for the proceedings
of the 1973 Constitution Convention which
was never published. A photocopy and soft
copy of the complete compilation maybe
found at the Filipiniana Reeading Room of
the National Library of the Philippines.
- The 1934 – 35 proceedings were mostly in
the Spanish Vernacular.
4.1.2 Treaties and Other International Agreements
A. What is a treaty?
A treaty is an agreement or contract between
two {bilateral} or more {multilateral} nations entered
into by agents appointed {generally the Secretary
of Foreign Affairs or ambassador} for a purpose and
is duly sanctioned by the supreme powers of each
country who is a party to the treaty.
In the Philippines, a treaty shall not be valid and
effective unless there is concurrence of at least two
thirds of all the members of the senate. {Article 7
sec 21 of the Philippine Constitution}
B. What is an executive agreement?
An executive agreement is a form of agreement
similar to a treaty but it does not have the
concurrence of the senate. It may or may not have
legislative authorization but that which has limited
execution by constitutional restrictions.
C. Can the President enter into a treaty or
agreement?
Yes. The President of the Philippines may enter into
international treaties or agreements as the national
welfare and and interest may require, and may
contract and guarantee foreign loans on behalf of
the Republic, subject to such limitations provided
by law.
D. Where can I see the official list of treaties
and its pertinent details?
The official text of treaties are published in the
Official Gazette. It can also be found in
the Department of Foreign Affairs Treaty Series
{DFATS}, United Nations Treaty Series {UNTS},
University of the Philippines Law Center’s Philippine
Treaty Series {PTS} and the records of the Philippine
Senate. The most reliable electronic copies of the
various treaties which major libraries use is the
Treaties and International Agreements Researchers
Archives {TIARA}. Recently, a memorandum of
agreement and collaboration between the
Supreme Court and DFA was endeavored. Thus
since 2010, we already have a Philippine Treaties
Online.
In addition, for tax treaties, Eutaquio Ordono has
published a series on the Philippine Tax Treaties.
Other sources for research on treatise may be
found on The American Journal of International Law
and The Philippine Yearbook of International Law.

4.1.3 Statutes Proper (Legislative Enactments)
Statutes are enactments of the different legislative
bodies since 1900 broken down as follows:
 4,275 ACTS - Enactments from 1900-1935
 733 Commonwealth Acts - Enactments from
1935-1945
 2034 Presidential Decrees - Enactments from
1972- 1985
 884 Batas Pambansa. – Enactments from
1979-1985
 10,157 Republic Acts - Enactments from
1946-1972, 1987- January 2012
Codes adapted from 1901 to present:
Executive Proclamation
Those orders fixing the dates when specific laws,
resolutions or orders cease to take effect and any
information concerning matters of public moment
determined by law, resolution or executive orders
4.1.5. Administrative Rules and regulations
Orders, rules and regulations issued by the heads of
Departments, Bureau and other agencies of the
government for the effective enforcement of laws
within their jurisdiction. However, in order that such
rules and regulations may be valid, they must be
within the authorized limits and jurisdiction of the
office issuing them and in accordance with the
provisions of the law authorizing their issuance.

 Child and Youth Welfare Code Mandatory to file three (3) certified copies of their
 Civil Code orders, rules and regulations with the University of
 Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Code the Philippines Law Center's Office of National
 Coconut Industry Code Administrative Register and are required to publish
 Code of Commerce quarterly in a publication called National
 Cooperative Code Administrative Register. Aside from the printed
 Corporation Code copies, the National Administrative Register is
 Family Code available electronically on CD-ROM (CD Asia
 Fire Code Technologies Inc.) and online at the Supreme Court
 Forest Reform Code E-Library.
 Intellectual Property Code
 Labor Code
University of the Philippines Law Center’s Office of
 Land Transportation and Traffic Code
National Administrative Register is not only tasked to
 Local Government Code
publish this quarterly register but must keep an up-
 Muslim Code of Personal Laws
to-date codification of all rules thus published and
 National Building Code
remaining in effect together with a complete index
 National Code of Marketing of Breast-milk
and appropriate tables. Every rule establishing an
Substitutes and Supplements
offense or defining an act, which pursuant to law is
 National Internal Revenue Code
punishable as a crime or subject to a penalty, shall
 Omnibus Election Code
in all cases be Published in full text. Exceptions to
 Philippine Environment Code
the “filing requirement" are Congress, Judiciary,
 Revised Administrative Code
Constitutional Commission, military establishments in
 Revised Penal Code
all matters relative to Armed Forces personnel, the
 Sanitation Code
Board of Pardons and Parole and state universities
 State Auditing Code
and colleges.
 Tariff and Customs Code
 Water Code

4.1.4 Executive (Presidential Issuances)

Executive Orders

Administrative acts, orders and regulations of the

President touching on the organization or mode of
operation of the government, re-arranging or
adjusting districts, divisions or parts of the Philippines,
and acts and commands governing the general
performance of duties of public officials and
employees or disposing of issues of general concern
 Philippine Legal Research
4.2. Research of Case Law
Case Law or Judicial Decisions: official
interpretations or manifestations of law made by
persons and agencies of the government
performing judicial and quasi-judicial functions.
Supreme Court: the court of last resort.
Judiciary of 1980 (Batas Pambansa Blg. 129):
established the following courts:
 Court of Appeals;
 Regional Trial Courts divided into different
judicial regions;
 Metropolitan Trial Court;
 Municipal Trial Court in Cities;
 Municipal Trial Courts; and
 Municipal Circuit Trial Courts.
Conventional decisions: decisions or rulings made
by regularly constituted court of justice.
Subordinate decisions: made by administrative
agencies performing quasi-judicial functions.
Major problem in conduct8ing research on case
law: availability of published or printed decisions
from the Court of Appeals to the rest of the judicial
and quasi-judicial agencies.
Establishment of Supreme Court e-Library:
aimed to address the problem and also
those from statute law. (Judicial Reform
Program of the Supreme Court)
Reporters Office of the Supreme Court and the
Court of Appeals: keep all the original and
complete copies of the court decisions.
Original: means that they keep the decisions
with the original signatures of the Justices of
the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.
Rest of the Judiciary or the quasi-judicial agencies,
copies of their decisions may be found from the
fllowing:
 Legal Office;
 Office of the Clerks of Court;
 Records Office; or
 Their libraries
*No available printed compilations of lower court
decisions.
4.2.1. Supreme Court Decisions
 The highest source of jurisprudence, source
of law, aside from the laws of the land.
 It is the judgment of this court which
determines whether a law is constitutional or
not.
Classifications of Decisions of the Supreme Court:
 Regular decisions and extended Resolutions
o Published in court reports either in
primary or secondary sources.
o Provide the Justice who penned the
decision or ponente and the other
justices responsible for promulgating
the decision, whether En Banc or by
Division.
o Separate dissenting and/or
concurring opinions are published
with the main decision.
o There is certification from the Chief
Justice after each decision is made.
Only after the certification can a
decision be made available in print
and uploaded electronically on the
Supreme Court e-Library.
 Minute Resolutions
o Same force and effect as the regular
decisions or extended resolutions.
o Issued and ssigned by the respective
Clerks of Court En Banc or by any of
the three Divisions and signed by
their respective Clerks of Court.
o Not published in Court reports but
the Supreme Court has now
incorporated these Minute
Resolutions, more particularly those
that resolve a motion for
reconsideration or those that explain
or affirm a decision, and
Administrative Matters i9n the
Supreme Court e-Library under
“RESOLUTIONS”.
Primary sources or official repositories of decisions
and extended resolutions of the Supreme Court:
 Official Gazette:
o Selective compilation of Supreme
Court decisions.
 Philippine Reports:
o The complete compilation of
decisions of the Supreme Court.
o Volumes 1-127 are out of print.
o Philippine Reports until volume 126
(1960’s) was published by the Bureau
 of Printing or the National Printing
Office.
o When printing was transferred to the
Supreme Court in 1983, Supreme
Court’s Philippine Reports started in
volume 127.
 Advance Sheets:
o Decisions in reproduced form or
photocopied copy of the actual
original decision which contains the
full text,. The signatures of the
Justices and the certification of the
Chief Justice.
o Printing has been discontinued
because it is uploaded almost
immediately on the Supreme Court
website as soon as decision has
been certified by the Chief Justice.
Unpublished decisions of the Supreme Court:
 From 1901-1960.
 Supreme Court e-Library started to collect
these unpublished decisions and include
them in it database.
 Unpublished decisions from 1946-1960 are
available in the Reporters Office of the
Supreme Court.
 Sources:
o United States National Archives in
Maryland
o Private collections of former
Supreme Court Justices such as
Chief Justice Ramon Avancena and
Justice George Malcolm (collection
is found in the University of Michigan)
o Private law libraries who were able
to save some of their collection such
as the University of Santo Tomas.
Juriprudencia Filipina: early volumes, particularly
those before the war were originally published in
Spanish.
Most popular secondary sources:
 Supreme Court Reports Annotated (SCRA)
and eSCRA
 Lex Libris Jurisprudence CD-ROM and CD
Asia Online
*Online and CD versions are on subscription basis
while the printed SCRA may be purchased per
volume.
Two new sources which are on subscription basis:
 My Legal Whiz; Easy Contextual Legal
Research
 Law Juan decisions, iTunes app
Legal Research for Jurisprudence can be done
manually using:
 Topic or Subject Approach:
o Late by three years for the latest
SCRA Quick Index digest is 2014.
o Can be done through the available
Law Finders listed from 1901 to 2015.
o Philippine Digest
o Republic of the Philippine Digest
o Velayo’s Digest
o Magsino’s Compendium
o Supreme Court’s unpublished
Subject Index
o Martinez’ Summary of Supreme
Court Rulings 1984 to 1997
o UP Law Center’s Supreme Court
Decisions: Subject Index and Digests
o SC’ Case Digests
o Philippine Law and Jurisprudence
o Castigador’s Citation
o SCRA Quick *Index Digest
 Title Approach:
o Last published Law Finder is 1985.
o The Supreme Court Library updated
Title Index is available at the
Supreme Court Library portal but is
not yet available online.
o Philippine Digest – Case Index
o Republic of the Philippines Digest
o Ong, M. Title Index to SC decisions
1946-1978 2v.; 1978-1981 1st Suppl.;
1981-1985, 2nd Suppl.; 1986 to present
is unpublished but available at the
Supreme Court Library portal
o Ateneo’s Index
 Electronic sources of research on case law
are as follows:
o Chanrobles.com. Chan Robles Law
Firm Library
o eSCRA. Central Book Supply
o Law Juan. iTunes App
(Jurisprudence)
o Lawphil.net Arellano Law Foundation
o Lex Libris: Jurisprudence. Online and
CD-ROM updated quarterly CD Asia
Technologies Inc. (CD-ROM) and CD
Asia online
o My Legal Whiz; Easy Contextual
Legal Research
o Supreme Court e-Library
o Supreme Court website
4.2.2 Court of Appeals Decision
 Persuasive on lower courts.
 Cited in cases where there are no Supreme
Court decisions in point.
  Considered as judicial guides to lower courts E.G.
and that conclusion or pronouncement they
make can be raised as doctrine.  Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Repository of all the Court of Appeals decisions.  National Labor Relations Commission,
 Insurance Commission
 The Reporter Division  Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board
 Clerk of Court of the Court of Appeals (HLURB)
  Government Service Insurance System
Sources of Court of Appeals decisions are: (GSIS)
 Social Security System (SSS)
Text:
 Civil Service Commission (CSC)
 Court of Appeals decisions are now being
completed online starting from the latest to
1936. - Some of their decisions are published in the
 Official Gazette (selective publication Official Gazette.
 Court of Appeals Reports which was
- Some have their own publication such as
published by the Court of Appeals until
the SEC and the CSC or some include them
1980. This publication is not a complete
in their own websites.
compilation and it is still considered
selective for not all CA decisions are
included.
 Court of Appeals Reports (CAR) by Central
Book Supply published one volume.
 Philippine Law and Jurisprudence
(discontinued)
 Reports Office of the Court of Appeals

Subject or Topic Approach:

 Velayo’s Digest
 Moreno’s Philippine Law Dictionary

4.2.3 Court of Tax Appeals

- Decisions from 1980 – 2004 are found in the

Lex Libris particulary in Taxation CD-ROM.
- CTA decisions are now being completed
online starting from the latest to its first
decision

4.2.4. Sandiganbayan and the Court of Tax Appeals

- Do not have published or printed decisions

- Has only one volume published
(Sandiganbayan Reports vol. 1 covers
decisions promulgated from December
1979 to 1980.
- Now being made available online starting
from the latest to its first decision.
- The Legal Office of the Sandiganbayan is
the repository of all its decisions.

4.2.5. Decisions of Administrative Agencies,

Commissions, and Boards.

Quasi-judicial functions.