Chapter 5

Statutory definition

A statute sometimes defines particular words & phrase used therein.

In such case, the legislative definition controls the meaning of the statutory word, irrespective of any other
meaning the word or phrase may have in its ordinary or usual sense.
For the legislature, in adopting a specific definition, is deemed to have restricted the meaning of the word
within the terms of the definition.

When the legislature defines a word used in a statute, it does not usurp the court’s function to interpret the
laws but it merely legislates what should form part of the law itself.
The term or phrase specifically defined in particular law, definition must be adopted.
When should courts depart from it?
The general rule that the statutory definitions control the meaning of statutory words does not apply when
its application creates obvious incongruities in the language of the statute, destroys one of its major
purposes, or becomes illogical as a result of a change in its factual basis. In any such case, the statutory
definition will be disregarded and the word given a meaning that will avoid any of such results or
consequences.

In construing a word or phrase, the court should adopt the interpretation that accords best with the manifest
purpose of the state or promotes or realizes its object.
It is thus generally recognized that if a statute is ambiguous and capable of more than one construction,
the literal meaning of the word or phrase used therein may be rejected if the result of adopting such meaning
will defeat the purpose which the legislature had in mind.

Progressive interpretation
A word of general signification employed in a statute should be construed, in the absence of legislative
intent to the contrary, to comprehend not only peculiar conditions obtaining at the time of its enactment but
those that may normally arise after its approval as well.
Extends by construction the application of a stature to all subjects or conditions within its general purpose
or scope that may come into existence subsequent to its passage and thus keeps legislation from becoming
ephemeral and transitory.

Legal maxims and how they are applied

Generaliter verba sunt generaliter intelligenda — What is generally spoken shall be generally understood
Generale dictum generaliter est interpretandum — General words shall be understood in a general sense.
Ubi lex non distingui nec nos distinguere debemus — What the law does not distinguish, courts should not
distinguish
 - the rule, founded on logic, is a corollary of the principle that general words and phrases in a statute
should ordinarily be accorded their natural and general significance.
- The rule requires that a general term or phrase should not be reduced into parts and one part
distinguished from the other so as to justify its exclusion from the operation of law.
Verba accipienda sunt secundum materiam — A word is understood in the context in which it is used.
Noscitur a sociis — Words construed with reference to accompanying or associated words
- states that where a particular word or phrase is ambiguous in itself or is equally susceptible of
various meanings, its correct construction may be made clear and specific by considering the
company of words.
- where the law does not define a word used therein, it will be construed as having a meaning similar
to that of words associated or accompanied by it.
- A word or phrase should be interpreted in relation to, or given the same meaning of, words with
which it is associated.
Illustration:
Buenaseda v. Flavier
· Statute: Sec. 13(3), Art XI of the Constitution grants Ombudsman power to “Direct the officer concerned
to take appropriate action against a public official or employee at fault, and recommend his removal,
suspension, demotion, fine censure or prosecution.
· “suspension” – is a penalty or punitive measure, not preventive
Ejusdem generis – of the same kind or specie
- While general words or expressions in a statute are, as a rule, accorded their full, natural, and
generic sense, they will not be given such meaning if they are used in association with specific
words or phrases.
- where a general word or phrase follows and enumeration of a particular and specific words of the
same class or where the latter follow the former, the general word or phrase is to be construed to
include, or to be restricted to, persons, things or cases akin to, resembling, or of the same kind or
class as those specifically mentioned.
- The purpose of the rule is to give effect to both particular or general words, by treating the particular
words as indicating the class and the general words as indicating all that is embraced in said class
although not specifically named by the particular words.
- Applied in cases where specific and generic terms of the same nature are employed in the same
fact, the latter following the former.
Argumentum a contrario/ negative-positive doctrine — what is expressed puts an end to what is implied.
Expressio unius est exclusion alterius —The express mention of one person, thing or consequence implies
the exclusion of all others.
-Expressum facit cessare tacitum — what is expressed puts an end to what is implied
-Exceptio firmat regulam in casibus non exceptis — general expression followed by exceptions therefrom
implies that those which do not fall under the exceptions come within the scope of the general expression
Application: generally used in construction of statutes granting powers, creating rights and remedies,
restricting common rights, and imposing penalties and forfeitures, as well as those statutes which are strictly
construed.

Casus omissus pro omisso habendus est/ doctrine of casus omissus

A person, object or thing omitted from an enumeration must be held to have been omitted intentionally.The
maxim operates only if and when the omission has been clearly established, and in such a case what is
omitted in the enumeration may not, by construction, be included therein.
Ad proximum antecedens fiat relatio nisi impediatur sententia/ doctrine of last antecedent — relative words
refer to the nearest antecedents, unless the context otherwise requires
Reddendo singula singulis — referring each to each

Chapter 6
Statutes in pari materia and how it should be construed in relation to the Constitution

Statutes in pari materia– relating to same matter

- Statutes that relate to the same person or thing, or have the same purpose or object, or cover the
same specific or particular subject matter. The latter statute may specifically refer to prior statutes.

The rule on how it should be construed in relation to the Constitution is expressed in the maxim Interpretare
et concordat legs legibus est optimus interpretandi modus — every statute must be so construed and
harmonized with other statutes as to form a uniform system of jurisprudence.

A statute should not be interpreted independently of the Constitution. It should be construed in harmony
with, and not in violation of the fundamental law. It should not be construed in such a way as will give rise
to constitutional doubt nor should it be interpreted to render its application violative of a constitutional
inhibition.

Discussion of different statutes (general, special, reference, supplemental, reenacted, adopted)

General statutes — applies to all of the people of the state or to all of a particular class or persons in the
state with equal force. One which embraces a class of subject or places and does not omit any subject or
place naturally belonging to such class.

Special statute — one which relates to particular persons or things of a class or to a particular portion of
the state only.

General and Special statute are statutes in pari materia and should, accordingly be read together and
harmonized, if possible, with a view giving effect to both. In case of conflict, the special act must prevail
since it evinces the legislative intent more clearly than that of a general statute and must be taken as an
exception to the general act.

Reference statute — a statute which refers to other statutes and makes them applicable to the subject of
legislation. Are frequently used to avoid encumbering the statute books of unnecessary repetition and they
have been recognized as an approved method of legislation.

Supplemental statute — one intended to supply deficiencies in an existing statute and to add, to complete,
or extend the statute without changing or modifying its original text.

Reenacted statutes — a statute which reenacts a previous statute or the provisions thereof is known as a
reenacted statute. One n which the provision of an earlier statute are reproduced in the same or
substantially the same words.

Adopted statute — statute patterned after, or copied from a statute of a foreign country.

Chapter 7
1. Strict construction

- That construction according to the letter of a statute, which recognizes nothing that is not
expressed, takes the language used in its exact meaning, and admits no equitable consideration.
Statutes imposing taxes

- Tax statutes must be construed strictly against the government and liberally in favor of the taxpayer
- Power to tax involves power to destroy
- Taxing act are not to be extended by implication
- Tax statutes should be clearly, expressly, and unambiguously imposed
- Reason for strict construction: taxation is a destructive power which interferes with the personal
property rights of the people and takes from them a portion of their property for the support of the
government

Statutes authorizing suits against the government

Art. XVI, Sec. 3, 1987 Constitution – “The State may not be sued without its consent”
General rule: sovereign is exempt from suit
Exception: in the form of statute, state may give its consent to be sued
Statute is to be strictly construed and waiver from immunity from suit will not be lightly inferred
· Nullum tempus occurrit regi – there can be no legal right as against the authority that makes the law on
which the right depends
· Reason for non-suability – not to subject the state to inconvenience and loss of governmental efficiency

Statutes in derogation of rights

- Rights are not absolute, and the state, in the exercise of police power, may enact legislations
curtailing or restricting their enjoyment
 - As these statutes are in derogation of common or general rights, they are generally strictly construed
and rigidly confined to cases clearly within their scope and purpose

Statutes granting privileges

- Statutes granting advantages to private persons or entities have in many instances created special
privileges or monopolies for the grantees and have thus been viewed with suspicion and strictly
construed
- Privilegia recipient largam interpretationem voluntati consonam concedentis – privileges are to be
interpreted in accordance with the will of him who grants them
- And he who fails to strictly comply with the will of the grantor loses such privileges

2. Liberal construction

- Means such equitable construction as will enlarge the letter of a statute to accomplish its intended
purpose, carry out its intent, or promote justice.

- Expands the meaning of a statute to meet cases which are clearly within the spirit or reason thereof.
Election laws

- Election laws should be reasonably and liberally construed to achieve their purpose

- · Purpose – to effectuate and safeguard the will of the electorate in the choice of their
representatives

- · 3 parts
o Provisions for the conduct of elections which election officials are required to follow
o Provisions which candidates for office are required to perform
o Procedural rules which are designed to ascertain, in case of dispute, the actual winner in the
elections
Different rules and canons or statutory construction govern such provisions of the election law
- · Part 1:
- o Rules and regulations for the conduct of elections
- § Before election – mandatory (part 1)
- § After election – directory (part 3)
- o Generally – the provisions of a statute as to the manner of conducting the details of an
election are NOT mandatory; and irregularities in conducting an election and counting the votes, not
preceding from any wrongful intent and which deprives no legal voter of his votes, will not vitiate an election
or justify the rejection of the entire votes of a precinct
- § Against disenfranchisement
- § Remedy against election official who did not do his duty – criminal action against them
- · Part 2:
- o Provisions which candidates for office are required to perform are mandatory
- o Non-compliance is fatal
- · Part 3:
- o Procedural rules which are designed to ascertain, in case of dispute, the actual winner in the
elections are liberally construed
- o Technical and procedural barriers should not be allowed to stand if they constitute an obstacle in
the choice of their elective officials
- · For where a candidate has received popular mandate, overwhelmingly and clearly expressed, all
possible doubts should be resolved in favor of the candidates eligibility, for to rule otherwise is to
defeat the will of the electorate
When do we determine if statutes are strictly or liberally construed?
Generally, a statute would be given a strict or liberal construction would depend on the following:
- the nature of the statute
- the purpose to be subserved
- the mischief to be remedied
Purpose: to give the statute the interpretation that will best accomplish the end desired and effectuate
legislative intent

Chapter 9
Prospective statutes — Operates upon facts or transactions that occur after the statute takes effect.

— looks and applies to the future.

Penal statutes — generally operate prospectively. Art 21 of the RPC provides that “no felony shall be
punishable by any penalty not prescribed by law prior to its commission.”

Provision is recognition to the universally accepted principle that no penal law can have a retroactive effect,
no act or omission shall be held to be a crime, nor its author punished, except by virtue of a law in force at
the time the act was committed.

It is also embodied in the legal maxim Nullum crimen sine poena, null open sine legis — there is no crime
without a penalty, there is no penalty without a law
Ex post facto law can be any of the following: (MACAAD)
o Law Makes criminal an act done before the passage of the law and which was innocent when done, and
punishes such act
o Law which Aggravates a crime, makes it greater than it was, when committed
o Law which Changes the punishment & inflicts a greater punishment than that annexed to the crime when
committed
o Law which Alters the legal rules of evidence, authorizes conviction upon less or different testimony than
the law required at the time of the commission of the offense
o Law which Assumes to regulate civil rights and remedies only, but in effect imposes penalty or deprivation
of a right for something which when done was lawful
o Law which Deprives a person accused of a crime of some lawful protection to which he
has become entitled, such as protection of anformer conviction or acquittal, or proclamation of amnesty

Bill of attainder — legislative act which inflicts punishment without judicial trial
Statutes affecting vested rights — A vested right or interest may be said to mean some right or interest
in property that has become fixed or established and is no longer open to doubt or controversy.
· Rights are vested when the right to enjoyment, present or prospective, has become the property of some
particular person or persons, as a present interest
· The right must be absolute, complete and unconditional, independent of a contingency
· A mere expectancy of future benefit or a contingent interest in property founded on anticipated
continuance of existing laws does not constitute a vested right
· Inchoate rights which have not been acted on are not vested
· A statute may not be construed and applied retroactively under the following circumstances: o if it impairs
substantive right that has become vested;
o as disturbing or destroying existing right embodied in a judgment;
o creating new substantive right to fundamental cause of action where none existed before and making
such right retroactive;
o by arbitrarily creating a new right or liability already extinguished by operation of law
· Law creating a new right in favor of a class of persons may not be so applied if the new right collides with
or impairs any vested right acquired before the establishment of the new right nor, by the terms of which is
retroactive, be so applied if:
o it adversely affects vested rights
o unsettles matter already done as required by existing law
o works injustice to those affected thereby

Retroactive statutes — Law which creates a new obligation, imposes a new duty or attaches a new
disability in respect to a transaction already past.
o A statute is not made retroactive because it draws on antecedent facts for its operation, or part of the
requirements for its action and application is drawn from a time antedating its passage.

Procedural statutes — adjective laws which prescribe rules and forms of procedure of enforcing rights or
obtaining redress for their invasion
o they refer to rules of procedure by which courts applying laws of all kinds can properly administer injustice
o they include rules of pleadings, practice and evidence
Police Power legislations —as a rule, statutes which are enacted in the exercise of police power to
regulate certain activities, are applicable not only to those activities or transactions coming into being after
their passage, but also to those already in existence
Rationale: the non-impairment of the obligations of contract or of vested rights must yield to the legitimate
exercise of power, by the legislature, to prescribe regulations to promote the health, morals, peace,
education, good order, safety and general welfare of the people
Chapter 10
Definitions
Power to Amend
{ The legislature has the authority to amend, subject to constitutional requirements, any existing law.
{ Authority to amend is part of the legislative power to enact, alter and repeal laws.
{ The SC in the exercise of its rule-making power or of its power to interpret the law, has no authority to
amend or change the law, such authority being the exclusive to the legislature.

Repeal: total or partial, express or implied

{ Total repeal – revoked completely
{ Partial repeal – leaves the unaffected portions of thestatute in force.
{ A particular or specific law, identified by its number oftitle, is repealed is an express repeal.
{ All other repeals are implied repeals.
{ Failure to add a specific repealing clause indicates thatthe intent was not to repeal any existing law, unless
an irreconcilable inconsistency and repugnancy exist inthe terms of the new and old laws, latter situation
falls under the category of an implied repeal.

{ Repealed only by the enactment of subsequent laws.

Revision or codification

- Some new provisions are inserted, some old provisions are omitted, the phraseology is
changed and sections are rearranged.

- Purpose: to restate the existing laws into one subject easily found easily.
Rule with respect to amendment by implication
Every statute should be harmonized with other laws on the same subject, in the absence of a clear
inconsistency.
{ Legislative intent to amend a prior law on the same subject is shown by a statement in the later act that
any provision of law that is inconsistent therewith is modified accordingly.
{ Implied Amendment- when a part of a prior statute embracing the same subject as the later may not be
enforced without nullifying the pertinent provision of the latter in which event, the prior act is deemed
amended or modified to the extent of repugnancy. before the specified date, subject to penalty of a
percentage of the whole amount of tax in case of delayed payment, is amended by authorizing payment of
the tax in four equal installments to become due on or before specified dates.
« The penalty provision of the earlier statute is modified by implication that the penalty for late payment of
an installment under the later law will be collected and computed only on the installment that became due
and unpaid, and not on the whole amount of annual tax as provided in the old statute.
« Legislative intent to change the basis is clear when the later law allowed payment in four installments.
Repeal by implications
Where a statute of later date clearly reveals an intention on the part of the legislature to abrogate a prior
act on the subject, that intention must be given effect.
{ There must be a sufficient revelation of the legislative intent to repeal.
{ Intention to repeal must be clear and manifest
{ General rule: the latter act is to be construed as a continuation not a substitute for the first act so far as
the two acts are the same, from the time of the first enactment.

Two categories of repeals by implication

« Where provisions in the two acts on the same subject matter are in an irreconcilable conflict and the later
act to the extent of the conflict constitutes an implied repeal of the earlier.
« If the later act covers the whole subject of the earlier one and is clearly intended as a substitute, it will
operate similarly as a repeal of the earlier act

General and special laws

A general law on a subject does not operate to repeal a prior special law on the same subject, unless it
clearly appears that the legislature has intended by the later general act to modify or repeal the earlier
special law.
{ Presumption against implied repeal is stronger when of two laws, one is special and the other general and
this applies even though the terms of the general act are broad enough to include the matter covered by
the special statute.
{ Generalia specialibus non derogant – a general law does not nullify a specific or special law
{ The legislature considers and makes provision for all the circumstances of the particular case.
{ Reason why a special law prevails over a general law: the legislature considers and makes provision for
all the circumstances of the particular case.
{ General and special laws are read and construed together, and that repugnancy between them is
reconciled by constituting the special law as an

exception to the general law.

{ General law yields to the special law in the specific
law in the specific and particular subject embraced in
the latter.
{ Applies irrespective of the date of passage of the
special law.

Effect of repeal or nullity

When a law which expressly repeals a prior law isbitself repealed, the law first repealed shall not thereby
revived unless expressly so provided
{ Where a repealing statute is declared unconstitutional, it will have no effect of repealing the former statute,
the former or old statute continues to remain in force.