Powers of Admin Agencies and Judicial Review

Powers of Administrative Agencies and Judicial Review

Powers of Admin Agencies

• Admin agencies are entrusted with specific powers.
• Three major types of powers:
  • Investigatory power
  • Legislative/Rulemaking power
  • Judicial/Adjudicatory power
• Other powers:
  • Enforcement power
  • Rate fixing power

Determining Agency Powers

• The law creating the agency is the primary source.
• Congress can enact laws granting additional powers.
• Agencies are created to enforce specific laws.
• Powers can be:
  • Expressed: Specifically stated in the law.
  • Implied: Not inherent.
• Imposition of penalties must be checked for:
  • Express authorization in the law.
  • Infringement on the Bill of Rights.
• Presumption of regularity applies to agency actions within their powers.
• Contesting an agency's action:
  • The burden of proof lies with the person challenging the action.
  • They must prove the act was illegal or unconstitutional.
  • Courts generally allow agencies to perform their functions unless there's a violation of rights.
• Courts check if the agency acted within its mandate.

Investigatory Powers

• Case example: David vs. CHR
  • Issue: Does CHR have the power to try and clear individuals?
  • Ruling: The court declared that CHR does not have judicial power.
  • CHR's power is primarily fact-finding, not adjudication.
  • Fact-finding is not equivalent to the judicial function.
  • Adjudicate: to settle in the exercise of judicial authority to determine finally.
• Investigatory power defined (Carino case):
  • To discover, find out, learn, and obtain information.
  • It does not include settling, deciding, or resolving a controversy by applying the law to established facts.
• CHR's power is limited to investigation based on Article 13, Section 18 of the Constitution
  • CHR can conduct hearings and recommend actions to the appropriate agency but cannot adjudicate.
• Case example: Envargo vs. (Subpoena power)
  • Issue: Can the agency issue subpoenas during a fact-finding investigation?
  • Ruling: Yes, the agency can issue subpoenas.
  • Agencies can enforce subpoenas during investigations, even without adjudication or probable cause.
  • Expressly stated in Executive Order number four that created it.

Quasi-Legislative Power

• Legislative power: the authority under the constitution to make laws and alter and repeal them.
• Rulemaking power:
  • Delegated by the lawmaking body to admin agencies.
  • To adopt rules and regulations to carry out the law's provisions and implement legislative policy.
• Quasi-legislative power is not inherent but delegated.
• It must be expressly stated in the law that creates that admin agency.

Classification of Admin Regulations (Republic of the Philippines vs. Drug Makers Laboratories)

• Legislative rules:
  • Implement primary legislation by providing details.
  • Impose extra-statutory obligations.
  • Affect individual rights and obligations.
• Interpretative rules:
  • Clarify or explain existing statutory regulations.
• Contingent rules:
  • Based on existing laws and certain facts or things upon which the enforcement of the law depends.

Limitations on Rulemaking Power (De Leon)

1. Rules and regulations must be consistent with the Constitution or statute.
   • They should not expound, alter, or repeal the law passed by Congress.
2. Rulemaking power includes the power to amend, revise, alter, or repeal the rules.

Due Process

• Section one of article two of the 1987 provides that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any persons be denied the equal protections of the law.
• Two concepts:
  • Substantive due process:
    • Freedom from arbitrariness.
    • Requires sufficient justification for depriving a person of life, liberty, or property.
  • Procedural due process:
    • Adherence to established processes.
    • Fairness in procedure.

Notice and Hearing

• Generally not required when agencies exercise quasi-legislative power.
• Exceptions:
  • When the law specifically provides for it.
  • In the fixing of rates (Section nine of the Admin Code).
  • Proposed rates must be published in a newspaper of general circulation at least two weeks before proceeding.
• Publication in the Official Gazette:
  • Required if the IRR creates obligations that affect the public.
  • Filing of rules with the UP Law Center at the National Administrative Register is also required.

When Issuances and Rules Are Not Required to Be Published

• Interpretative rules, orders, instructions, or internal rules for officials or employees.
• Relevant Articles of the Civil Code:
  • Article 2: Laws take effect 15 days after publication unless otherwise provided.
  • Article 3: Ignorance of the law excuses no one.
  • Article 4: Laws have no retroactive effect unless stated.
  • Article 5: If the law itself authorizes validity, acts against mandatory or prohibitive laws shall be void.
  • Article 6: Rights may be waived unless it violates law, public order, policy, morals, customs, or prejudices a third person.
  • Article 7: Laws are repealed only by subsequent ones.
  • Article 8: Decisions of court interpreting a law become part of the legal system.
• Admin or executive acts are only valid if they are not contrary to the laws or the constitution.
• Admin agencies do not possess legislative power, but a delegated legislative power.

Tests for Adequate Legislative Guidelines

• Ensures delegated rulemaking authority is not lawmaking power.
• Bellica versus Ochoa
• Two tests:
  1. Completeness test
     • The law must set forth the policy to be executed by the delegate.
  2. Sufficient standard test
     • The law must provide adequate guidelines or limitations.
     • The standard must:
       • Specify the limits of the delegate’s authority.
       • Announce the legislative policy.
       • Identify the conditions for implementation.
• Example of undue delegation: Section eight of PD nine one zero (Benika vs. Ochoa):
  • Gave the president wide latitude to use funds for any purpose he directed.
  • Allowed the president to unilaterally appropriate public funds.

Kinds/Purpose of Admin Rules and Regulations

• Filling up the details of the law for enforcement (supplementary rulemaking).
• Ascertaining facts to bring the law into actual operation (contingent rulemaking).

Requisites for Validity of Admin Rules and Regulations (Executive Secretary vs. South Wing Heavy Industries)

1. Promulgated by the legislature (allowed by Congress).
2. Promulgated according to prescribed procedure.
3. Within the scope of authority given by the legislature.
4. Reasonable.

Doctrine of Contemporaneous Construction

• Otherwise known as the executive construction doctrine.
• The contemporaneous construction of a statute by the executive officers of the government whose duty is to execute it is entitled to great respect and should ordinarily control the construction of the statute by the courts is so firmly and so firmly embedded in our jurisdiction that no authorities need to be cited to support it.
• Courts should give weight to the construction of the agency or executive officer.

Delegation of Power to Punish

• The power to define and punish crimes is exclusively legislative.
• Cannot be delegated to admin agencies.
• Construction of penal statutes: Penal statutes are strictly construed.
• Admin agencies have only the administrative or policing powers expressly or by implication conferred.

Special Requisites for a Penal Admin Regulation to Be Valid

1. The law itself must make a violation of the admin regulation punishable.
2. The law itself must impose and specify the penalty for the violation.
3. The regulation must be published.

Right to Travel

• Section six of Article three of the 1987 constitution provides that the liberty of abode and of changing the same within the limits prescribed by law shall not be impaired except upon lawful order of the court, neither shall the right to travel be impaired except in the interest of national security, public safety, or public health as may be provided by law.
• Case example: versus Dilemma
  • Issue: DOJ circular number 41 allowing the issuance of look out departure order
  • Issue: Whether or not DOJ has the authority to issue DOJ circular number 41.
  • Ruling: No authority.
  • The circular is not a law but merely an admin issuance.
  • Rules and regulations should be within the scope of statutory authority.
  • The regulation must be germane to the objects and purpose of the law.
  • There must be a law basis for the impairment.
  • Only courts can issue a hold departure order.
  • Pending court case requires permission from the court to leave.

Invalid Exercise of Quasi-Legislative Power

• PCAP versus Mandela Water's company
  • Issue: R a four five six six unconstitutional due to creating restrictions to foreign entities
  • Ruling: Nationality based license type not stated in R.A. 4566.
  • Basic rule: the clear letter of the law is controlling and cannot be amended by a mere Admin rule issued for its implementation.
  • They created a special type of licensing without any basis.
• Issue example: Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines versus, Duque
  • Issue: Application of international agreement on MIL code
  • Ruling: International agreement can be applied through:
    • Transformation: give a treaty to to which The Philippine is signatory
    • Incorporation
  • Excessive provisions were invalid.
  • IRR cannot repeal other laws.

Quasi-Judicial Power

• Power of agency to determine facts to which the law applies.
• Includes:
  • Adjudicatory power
  • Traditional judicial power.
  • Make determination of facts and apply the law.
  • Judicial proceedings court.
  • Determinative power:
    • Make final decision or determine in specific matters.
    • Enabling power:
      • Authority to permit an act which the law regulates.
      • License to operate a liquor store is also an example.
    • Directing power:
      • Issue directives or orders.
      • Notice and hearing is required when the BRR is exercising its power of assessment
      • Power includes:
        • Dispensing Power.
        • Examining Power.
        • Summary powers.
• Two conditions for proper exercise:
  • Jurisdiction must be acquired by the admin body.
  • Due process must be observed.
    • Jurisdictions over the persons.
    • Jurisdictions over the subject matter.
    • Jurisdictions over the issue.
• Failure to meet conditions renders the decision void.

Quasi-Judicial vs. Judicial Power

Quasi-Judicial Body

• A non-court and non-legislature government body that affects private rights through adjudication or rulemaking.

Requirements of Due Process in Admin Proceeding

• (Flores versus Flores Conception versus Jane Liberty and the landmark case of versus CIR*
• (Case versus CR)*

1. The right to present one's case and submit evidence in support thereof.
2. The right to have counsel, albeit one is not indispensable but may be availed of.
3. The tribunal must consider the evidence presented.
4. The evidence must be substantial.
5. The decision must be based on the evidence presented.
6. The decision makers must act on their own independent consideration of the law and facts of the controversy, and not simply accept the views of a subordinate in arriving at a decision.
7. The decision should be rendered in such a manner that the parties to the proceeding can know the various issues involved and the reasons for the decision rendered.

• These are basically just opportunities to explain one side or an opportunity to seek a reconsideration of the action of the ruling complaint of.
• Right to counsel is available but not indispensable.

Power to Issue Subpoena

• Subpoena ad testificandum:
  • Requires a person to attend and testify.
• Subpoena duces tecum:
  • Requires a person to bring documents or things.
• The power to issue subpoena and subpoena is not inherent in admin bodies.
• The court held in that case that they have the power to investigate, make a fact finding report whether or not there is a a violation of the political and civil rights of the teachers. .So they all the in in that connection, they have the power to issue subpoena in relation to that specific matter

Contempt Power

• Not inherent in admin bodies.
• Essentially judicial.

Quantum of Evidence

• Civil cases, we have preponderance of evidence.
  $\text{Preponderance evidence} = \text{ Quantum proof of evidence}$
• Proof reasonable doubt is for criminal cases
• Substantial evidence:
  • Such amount of relevant evidence a reasonable mind accepts as adequate to support a conclusion.

Judicial Review

Administrative Res Judicata

• Forbids reopening a matter once judicially determined by competent authority.
• Applies to quasi-judicial acts of public officers and boards acting within their jurisdiction.
• Requirements:
  1. Final judgment
  2. Court with jurisdiction
  3. Judgment on the merits
  4. Identity of Parties.
  5. Identity of subject matter.
  6. Identity of Cause of Action.

Non-Interference

• The judgment of a court of a competent jurisdiction may not be open, modified, or by created by any court or tribunal of concurrent juris jurisdiction.

Primary Purpose of Judicial Review for Admin Actions

• Ensure agencies do not exceed their statutory or constitutional powers.
• Issues raised: Questions of fact and law (vs the public).
  • Question of law doubt as to what the law is on certain facts.
  • Question of fact doubt as to the truth or falsity of the alleged facts.
  • Without reviewing or evaluating the evidence, in which case it is a question of law. Otherwise, it is a question of So appellate court appellate court.

Doctrine of Primary Admin Jurisdiction

• Judicial resort is not allowed until acted upon by the admin agency.
• Courts are precluded from acting on a petition until this agency has exhausted its power.

So the reason doctrine. It is based on public policy and practical consideration because this agency have expertise to attain uniformity of application of regulatory laws

Doctrine of Exhaustion of Admin Agencies.

• Judicial records must not be initiated until such admin remedy has been fully availed of.
• Direct the direct resort is allowed.
  Is judicial determination of whether section 13 will six of the all new rules applies to her, which then letters to the restatement of to her formal position.
  So the question is one is purely legal and does constitute an exception to the rule on exhaustion of admin entity. So if the question is purely legal or constitutionality question, you can directly file it to the court. No need to go to admin agency because questions of laws are best answered in judicial courts.

Doctrinal Differences