PHILIPPINE ADMINISTRATIVE LAW

By
Carlo L. Cruz

Chapter 1
Geeral Co!"#erat"o!

Nature

A#$""!trat"%e La& – that branch of modern law under which the executive department of the
government, acting in a quasi-legislative
quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial capacity, interferes with the conduct of
the individual for the purpose of promoting the well-being of the community.

 Administrative law is a recent development , being a consequence of the ever increasing

complexities of society and the proliferation of problems of government that cannot readily or
effectively be addressed by the public agencies or solved by other disciplines of public law.

It was felt that thelegislative and judicial departments no longer had either the time or the
needed expertise to attend to these new problems.

 hus, the obvious solution was delegation of power .

obvious solution

 wo major powers

powers of the administrative
administrative agency!
agency!

". #uasi-legislative
#uasi-legislative authority– or
or rule ma$ing power

%. #uasi-judicial
#uasi-judicial power – or adjudicatory
adjudicatory function

Sour'e! o( A#$""!trat"%e
A#$""!trat"%e La&

Addministrative law is derived from four sources or is of four &'( $inds!

1. Co!t"tut"o or !tatutory
!tatutory ea't$et!
ea't$et! – e.g. )ocial )ecurity
)ecurity Act which
which established the
)ocial )ecurity *ommission.

). De'"!"o! o( 'ourt! "terpret"* the 'harter! o( a#$""!trat"%e

a#$""!trat "%e +o#"e!

,. Rule! a# re*ulat"o! "!!ue# +y the a#$""!trat"%e +o#"e! – e.g. +mnibus ules
Implementing the abor *ode.

-. Deter$"at"o!
Deter$"at"o ! a# or#er! o( the a#$""!trat"%e +o#"e! " the !ettle$et o(
'otro%er!"e!

A#$""!trat"o

Administration
Administratio n is understood in two senses!

". "!t"tut"o – administration as the aggregate of individuals in whose hands the reins of
government are for the time being.

%. (u't"o – administration as the actual running of the government by the executive

authorities through the enforcement of laws and implementation of policies.
overnment &as distinguished from administration( is the agency or instrumentality through
which the will of the )tate is formulated, expressed and reali/ed.

A#$""!trat"o D"!t"*u"!he# (ro$ La&

La& is impersonal command provided with sanctions to be applied in case of violation, while
A#$""!trat"o is preventive rather punitive and is accepted to be more personal than law.

aw maintains a watchful eye on those who would violate its order. 0hile administration on the
other hand see$s to spare individuals from punishments of the law by persuading him to observe
its commands.

Chapter )
A#$""!trat"%e A*e'"e!

De(""t"o

A#$""!trat"%e a*e'y – a body endowed with quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial powers for
the purpose of enabling it to carry out the laws entrusted to it for enforcement or execution.

Administrative agency may be regarded as an arm of the legislature insofar as it is authori/e to

promulgate rules. It may also be loosely considered a court because it performs functions of a
particular judicial character, as when it decides factual and sometimes even legal questions as
an incident of its general power of regulation.

Creat"o a# A+ol"t"o

 he administrative body may be created by the Co!t"tut"o or by a Statute.

If created by the *onstitution itself, the administrative body can be altered or abolished only by
*onstitution. 1ut where the body was created only by statute, the legislature that breathed life
into it can amend or even repeal its charter, thereby resulting in its abolition which is justified if
made in good faith.

Chapter ,
Po&er! o( A#$""!trat"%e A*e'"e!

ua!"/Le*"!lat"%e Po&er – the authority delegated by the law-ma$ing body to the

administrative body to adopt rules and regulations intended to carry out the provisions of  a law
and implement legislative policy.

ua!"/0u#"'"al Po&er – the power of the administrative authorities to ma$e determinations of

facts in the performance of their official duties and to apply the law as they construe it to the
facts so found.

Chapter -
The ua!"/Le*"!lat"%e Po&er
It has already been remar$ed that the rule-ma$ing power of the administrative body is intended
to enable it to implement the policy of the law and to provide for the more effective enforcement
of its provisions.

 hrough the exercise of this power of subordinate legislation, it is possible for the administrative
body to transmit the 2active power of the state from its source to the point of application,3 that
is, apply the law and so fulfill the mandate of the legislature.

"#! o( A#$""!trat"%e Re*ulat"o!

&a( Le*"!lat"%e 2  the administrative agency is acting in a legislative capacity, supplementing

the statute, filling in the details, or 2ma$ing the law3, and usually acting pursuant to a specific
delegation of legislative power.

&b( Iterpretat"%e – are those which purport to do no more than interpret the statute being
administered, to say what it means. hey constitute the administrator4s construction of a
statute.

 he interpretative regulation is issued by the administrative body as an incident to its power to
enforce the law and is intended merely to clarify its provisions for proper observance by the
people.

It is an elementary rule in administrative law that a#$""!trat"%e re*ulat"o! a# pol"'"e!

ea'te# +y a#$""!trat"%e +o#"e! to "terpret &h"'h they are etru!te# to e(or'e ,
have the force of law, are entitled to great respect, and have in their favor a presumpption of
legality.

1y contrast, the le*"!lat"%e re*ulat"o "! "!!ue# +y the a#$""!trat"%e +o#y pur!uat to
a %al"# #ele*at"o o( le*"!lat"%e po&er a# "! "te#e# to ha%e the +"#"* the (or'e
a# e((e't o( a la& ea'te# +y the le*"!lature "t!el( .

Cla!!"("'at"o o( Le*"!lat"%e Re*ulat"o

&a( Supple$etary 2 intended to fill in the details of the law and 2to ma$e explicit what is only
general.3

&b( Cot"*et 2 issued upon the happening of a certain contingency which the administrative
body is given the discretion to determine or to ascertain some circumstances and on the basis
thereof may enforce or suspend the operation of a law.

Re3u"!"te! o( A#$""!trat"%e Re*ulat"o

&a( Its promulgation must be authori/ed by the legislature5

&b( It must be within the scope of the authority given by the legislature5

&c( It must be promulgated in accordance with the prescribed procedure5

&d( It must be reasonable.

4"r!t Re3u"!"te5 Pro$ul*at"o Mu!t Be Author"ze# +y the Le*"!lature

Authority to promulgate the regulation is usually conferred by the *harter itself of the
administrative body or by the law it is supposed to enforce.
0hen *ongress authori/es promulgation of administrative rules and regulations to implement
given legislation, all that is required is that the regulation be not in contravention with it, but to
conform to the standards that the law prescribes.

Se'o# Re3u"!"te5 Re*ulat"o Mu!t Be W"th" the S'ope o( the Author"ty G"%e +y the
Le*"!lature

Assuming a valid authori/ation, it is still necessary that the regulation promulgated must not be
ultra vires or beyond the authority conferred.

Th"r# Re3u"!"te5 Re*ulat"o Mu!t Be Pro$ul*ate# " A''or#a'e &"th the Pre!'r"+e#
Pro'e#ure

As in the enactment of laws, the promulgation of administrative regulations of general

application does not require previous notice and hearing, the only exception being where the
legislature itself requires it . In the absence of such a requirement, the administrative body can
promulgate the regulation in its exclusive discretion.

1ut where the regulation is in effect a settlement of a controversy between specific parties, it is
considered an administrative adjudication and so will require notice and hearing.

As for publication, the applicable rule is now found in 6xecutive +rder 7o. %88 which provides
that laws 2shall ta$e effect after fifteen &"9( days following the completion of their publication
either in the +fficial a/ette or in a newspaper of general circulation in the :hilippines, unless it
is otherwise provided.3

Interpretative regulations and those merely internal in nature, that is, regulating only the
personnel of the administrative agency and not the public, need not be published.

:ublication must be in full or it is no publication at all since its purpose is to inform the public of
the contents of the law.

 he )upreme *ourt, it would seem, requires publication of the administrative regulation only if it
is of general application and penal in nature.

4ourth Re3u"!"te5 Re*ulat"o Mu!t Be Rea!oa+le

i$e statutes, administrative regulations promulgated thereunder must not be unreasonable or

arbitrary as to violate due process.

Peal Re*ulat"o!

 he power to define and punish crime is exclusively legislative and may not be delegated to the
administrative authorities. 0hile administrative regulations may have the force and effect of
law, their violation cannot give rise to criminal prosecution unless the legislature ma$es such
violation punishable and imposes the corresponding sanctions.

Special requisites of a valid administrative regulation with a penal sanction:

&a( he law itself must ma$e violation of the administrative regulation punishable5

&b( he law itself must impose and specify the penalty for the violation of the regulation5

&c( he regulation must be published.

Co!tru't"o a# Iterpretat"o

egulation should be read in harmony with the statute and not in violation of the authority
conferred on the administrative authorities.

 he administrative regulation that contravenes the statute is, of course, invalid.

E(or'e$et

It is established that the power to promulgate administrative regulations carries with it the
implied power to enforce them. his may be effected through judicial action or through
sanctions that the statute itself may allow the administrative body to impose.

A$e#$et or Repeal

i$e the statute, the administrative regulation promulgated thereunder is subject to amendment
or repeal by the authorities that promulgated them in the first place. +f course, it may be
changed directly by the legislature.

Chapter 6
The ua!"/0u#"'"al Po&er

ua!"/7u#"'"al po&er 2  is the power of the administrative agency to determine questions of fact
to which the legislative policy is to apply, in accordance with the standards laid down by the law
itself.

 he proper exercise of the quasi-judicial power requires compliance with two conditions, to wit!

&"( ;urisdiction must be properly acquired by the administrative body

&%( <ue process must be observed in the conduct of the proceedings

A. 0ur"!#"'t"o

 Jurisdiction 2 may be simply defined as the competence of an office or body to act on a given

matter or decide a certain question.

0ithout jurisdiction, the determination made by the administrative bodies are absolutely null and
without any legal effect whatsoever.

It is the legislature that has the power to confer jurisdiction upon the administrative body and so
limit or expand its authority.

It can be said that each administrative body has its own peculiar jurisdiction as conferred upon it
by the specific provisions of its charter.

 he law may allow some administrative bodies to award certain $inds of damages while denying
the same power, for no apparent reason, to other administrative bodies.

=or example, the )6* and 7* are allowed to award damages virtually to the same extent as a
court of justice. >et similar authority has not been conferred by its charter to 7*.

It is a well-settled principle that unless expressly empowered, administrative agencies are bereft
of quasi-judicial power.
Bowever as a rule, it is onl$ the &udicial tribunal that can interpret and decide the
question of law with finalit$.