 PASEI v.

Torres
o Principle:
 Express v. Implied Powers
o Facts:
 The Philippine Association of Service Exporters (PASEI) filed for a temporary
restraining order to enjoin the Secretary of Labor and administrator of POEA from
enforcing DO 16 s. and POEA circular 30 and 37 series of 1991
 PASEI is a large organization of private employment agencies which are engaged in
obtaining overseas employment for land based Filipino workers
 On 1991 a story was published regarding the abuse suffered by Filipino housemaids
and as a result thereof DO 16 was issued to temporarily suspend the recruitment by
private employment agencies of Filipino helpers going to Hong Kong
 POEA issued circular 30 which provided guidelines on the government processing and
deployment of Filipino helpers to Hong Kong
 To the dismay of PASEI because recruitment agencies now had to rely on the
approval of the newly created body House Hold Workers Placement Unit
(HWPU) before they can deploy Filipino Helpers to Hong Kong
 POEA also issued circular 37 which required private employment agencies to be
accredited by the POEA before doing business in the first place
o Issues:
 WON DOLE and POEA acted in excess of their rule making authority in issuing said
circulars
 NO, they did not act in excess of their powers
 Article 36 of the labor code gave the secretary of labor the power to RESTRICT
and REGULATE the recruitment and placement activities of all agencies
 While the POEA by virtue of EO 797 which created inherited the power of the
bureau of employment "to establish and maintain a registration and/or licensing
system to regulate private sector participation in the recruitment and
placement of workers"
 In short, they were expressly given the powers to restrict and regulate which
in itself involves a grant of police power, there is no excess to speak of
 WON the circulars are unconstitutional for being unreasonable and oppressive
 NO, it is not unconstitutional
 The quasi legislative powers exercised by these administrative bodies has been
necessitated by "the growing complexity of the modern society
 Specialized in the particular field assigned to them, they can deal with the
problems thereof with more expertise and dispatch than can be expected from
the legislature or the courts of justice
 WON the requirement of publication with the National Administrative Register were
not complied with
 Yes, and as a result thereof they are legally invalid
 Article 5 of the labor code provides that when the DOLE and other government
agencies ENFORCE this code (In this case article 36 which relate recruitment
activities), the rules only become effective 15 days after publication in
newspapers of general circulation
 Section 3 chapter 2 of the administrative code was also violated "Every agency
shall file with the University of the Philippines Law Center, three (3) certified
copies of every rule adopted by it"
 For lack of proper publication, the administrative circulars in question may not
be enforced and implemented