Digest case of Tanada v.

Tuvera
GR L-63915, 29 December 1986 (146 SCRA 446)En Banc, Cruz
(p) : 8 concurring
Facts:
On 24 April 1985, the Court affirmed the necessity for the
publication to the Official Gazette all unpublished
presidentialissuances which are of general application,
and unless so published, they shall have no binding force and
effect. Decision wasconcurred only by 3 judges. Petitioners
move for reconsideration / clarification of the decision on
various questions. Solicitor Generalavers that the motion is a
request for advisory opinion. February Revolution took place,
which subsequently required the new Solicitor General to file a
rejoinder on the issue (under Rule 3, Section 18 of the Rules of
Court).
Issue:
Whether publication is still required in light of the
clause unless otherwise provided.
Held: 1. Publication imperative
The clause unless it is otherwise provided, in Article 2 of the
Civil Code, refers to the date of effectivity and not to the
requirement of publication itself, which cannot in any event be
omitted. This clause does not mean that the legislature may
make the law effectiveimmediately upon approval, or on any
other date, without its previous publication. The legislature
may in its discretion provide that theusual fifteen-day period
shall be shortened or extended.
2. Scope of laws requiring publication
The term laws should refer to all laws and not only to those
of general application, for strictly speaking all laws relate to
the people ingeneral albeit there are some that do not apply
to them directly. To be valid, the law must invariably affect
the public interest even if itmight be directly applicable only
to one individual, or some of the people only, and not to the
public as a whole.Publication requirements applies to (1) all
statutes, including those of local application and private laws;
(2) presidential decrees andexecutive orders promulgated by
the President in the exercise of legislative powers whenever
the same are validly delegated by thelegislature or directly
conferred by the Constitution; (3) Administrative rules and
regulations for the purpose of enforcing or implementing
existing law pursuant also to a valid delegation; (4) Charter
of a city notwithstanding that it applies to only a portion of
thenational territory and directly affects only the inhabitants
of that place; (5) Monetary Board circulars to fill in the
details of the CentralBank Act which that body is supposed to

enforce.Publication requirements does not apply to (1)

interpretative regulations and those merely internal in nature,
i.e. regulating only thepersonnel of the administrative agency
and not the public; (2) Letters of Instructions issued by
administrative superiors concerning therules or guidelines to
be followed by their subordinates in the performance of their
duties; and (3) instructions of Ministry heads on casestudies,
assignments of personnel, etc. Municipal ordinances are not
covered by this rule but by the Local Government Code.
3. Publication must be full
Publication must be in full or it is no publication at all since its
purpose is to inform the public of the contents of the laws. As
correctlypointed out by the petitioners, the mere mention of
the number of the presidential decree, the title of such
decree, its whereabouts (e.g.,with Secretary Tuvera), the
supposed date of effectivity, and in a mere supplement of the
Official Gazette cannot satisfy thepublication requirement.
4. Medium of Publication
It should be published in the Official Gazette and
not elsewhere. Even if newspapers of general circulation could
better perform thefunction of communicating the laws to the
people as such periodicals are more easily available, have a
wider readership, and come outregularly, this kind of
publication is not the one required or authorized by existing
law.
5. Publication essential for due process
Omission of publication would offend due process insofar as it
would deny the public knowledge of the laws that are
supposed togovern it. it is not unlikely that persons not aware
of it would be prejudiced as a result; and they would be so not
because of a failure tocomply with it but simply because they
did not know of its existence. Publication is required, even
if their enactment is otherwiseprovided or effective
immediately.
6. Right to information
Section 6 of the Bill of Rights recognizes the right of the
people to information on matters of public concern, and this
certainly appliesto, among others, the legislative
enactments of the government.The Supreme Court declared
that all laws as above defined shall immediately upon their
approval, or as soon thereafter as possible, bepublished in full
in the Official Gazette, to become effective only after 15
days from their publication, or on another date specified
by thelegislature, in accordance with Article 2 of the Civil
Code.