ERNESTO M. MACEDA, vs. HON. CATALINO MACARAIG, JR.

, in his capacity as Executive Secretary,

Office of the President, HON. VICENTE JAYME, ETC., ET AL.,

Doctrine: For delegation to be constitutionally valid, the law must be complete in itself and must set
forth sufficient standards. With the growing complexities of modern life and the many technical fields of
governmental functions, as in matters pertaining to tax exemptions, delegation of legislative powers has
become the rule and non-delegation the exception. The legislature could not be expected to state all the
detailed situations wherein the tax exemption privilege would be restored.

Facts: Commonwealth Act No. 120 created the NPC as a public corporation to undertake the
development of hydraulic power and the production of power from other sources.

Executive Order No. 93 once again withdrew all tax and duty incentives granted to government and
private entities which had been restored under Presidential Decree Nos. 1931 and 1955 but it gave the
authority to Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) to restore, revise the scope and prescribe the date of
effectivity of such tax and/or duty exemptions.

FIRB issued a resolution restoring NPC's tax and duty exemption privileges and the President, through
respondent Executive Secretary Macaraig, Jr., confirmed and approved the same.

ISSUE: Whether or not the powers conferred upon the FIRB by Section 2(a), (b), and (c) and (4) of
Executive Order No. 93 "constitute undue delegation of legislative power and is, therefore,
unconstitutional.”

RULING: No.

With the growing complexities of modern life and the many technical fields of governmental functions,
as in matters pertaining to tax exemptions, delegation of legislative powers has become the rule and
non-delegation the exception. The legislature could not be expected to state all the detailed situations
wherein the tax exemption privilege would be restored. The task may be assigned to an administrative
body like the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB).

When E.O No. 93 was issued, President Aquino was exercising both Executive and Legislative powers.
Thus, there was no power delegated to her, rather it was she who was delegating her power. She
delegated it to the FIRB, which, for purposes of E.O No. 93 is a delegate of the legislature. Clearly, she
was not sub-delegating her power.

And E.O. No. 93 as a delegating law, was complete in itself — it set forth the policy to be carried out and
it fixed the standard to which the delegate had to conform in the performance of his functions.

For delegation to be constitutionally valid, the law must be complete in itself and must set forth
sufficient standards.