Ignorantia legis non excusat.
The ignorance of the law excuses no one from compliance therewith. Every person is expected to know the laws, as the access and publication are accessible to the public. Before it can be imposed on people, it must be publicly known– every provision, every rule and every intent through publication. The State cannot punish its people for not obeying the laws when they were not properly notified of their concepts and applications. For this main reason, laws should be properly legislated, following the correct process. Whether civil, political, criminal, mercantile, or labor, these bills go through the same process to be known as laws or Republic Acts under the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
Enacting laws is the main function of the legislative branch of the government. Anchored on the Constitution, the Congress has the huge responsibility which affects the people– from drafting a bill to endorsing to the President for signing. So, how does a bill become a law?
Lawmakers are sensitive to the concerns of their constituents. As they engage with them, they conceptualize on how best to solve problems by passing laws. These ideas or proposals are then written into bills, prepared and drafted by a member of Congress or the Bill Drafting Division of the Research Bureau.
The bill is given a number. If it came from the House of Representatives, it is given the code H followed by a number; and S followed by a number if it came from the Senate. It is then filed with the Bills and Index Service. After three days from the day of filing, the readied bill is then included in the Order of Business for First Reading, where the title and the number of the bill will be read. Right after, the presiding officer (this can be whether the Senate President or the Speaker of the House) refers the bill to the appropriate committee. It is in this step that the committee decides whether the bill needs public hearings or not. If the answer is yes, then the committee invites resource persons (both from the government and the private sector) for a meeting as well as to draw their inputs for the committee report. It is in this part wherein the Committee may introduce amendments, consolidations, or propositions. The Committee Report has to be approved and be transmitted to the Plenary Affairs Bureau. On the other hand, committee discussions will be scheduled for the bill when the committee sees no need for public hearings.
The committee report is now registered and numbered by the Bills and Index Service, handed down to the Committee on Rules, which is headed by the Majority Leader of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The second reading is a crucial part of enacting laws as it is in this manner that the bill undergoes sponsorship, interpellations, and amendments.
Lawmakers can now propose improvements on the bill’s words and intent, which they want to be included in the final copy of the bill. The second reading ends with a vote for its approval by all the legislators present in the house. The voting can be administered by viva voce, count by tellers, division of the House, or nominal voting. Important matters will be recorded to the legislative journal.
The third and final reading commences with the application of the suggested amendments and production of its multiple copies, which will then be distributed to all the members of the house, three days before the plenary session. In this final step, nominal voting by the members is done, and three minutes will be given to any member who wishes to justify his/her vote. The bill needs to have the votes of the majority for it to be considered approved, with the concurrence of both the members of the Senate and House of Representatives. In cases of different versions from the houses, a Bicameral Conference Committee meeting will be held to reconcile these differences. If the bill is not approved, then it will be kept to the Archives of the legislature.
In case of differences on the bill’s provisions, a Conference Committee will be held by members from each house to reconcile and thresh out disagreements. Once the bill is now approved by the House Speaker and the Senate President, with certification from both secretaries of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the final call will be done by the President. Copies of the signed bill will be transmitted to the President and he can sign the bill and make it a Republic Act or veto the proposed law.
If the President exercises his veto power, the bill will be sent back to the Congress, with notes on the items that are vetoed. However, a vetoed bill can be overridden by the Congress with concurred votes of 2/3 of the members of both Houses. In some cases, wherein the President has no action about the bill after thirty days from receipt, it automatically becomes a law.
When these three necessary readings are completed, the final process involves the reproduction of the copies of the bill to be sent to the Official Gazette for publication as well as distribution to the implementing agencies, which have the charge in the Implementing Rules and Regulation of the law. Finally, Article 2 of the Civil Code of the Philippines states that the law takes effect after fifteen days following the completion of their publication either in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation, unless otherwise provided.
In judicial interpretation of rules of procedure in legislation, the enrolled bill doctrine is a vital principle. Under this, after the third reading, once the bill has been signed by the heads of Congress, it is already conclusive and final. The courts assume that the rules of procedure were properly followed. In case of uncertainties relating to the enrolled bill, the courts may resort to the records of the legislative journal as proof of its enactment.
In the case of Astorga v. Villegas, with G.R. No. L-23475, April 30, 1974, a press statement by Senator Tolentino stated that the enrolled copy of the bill was a wrong version because it did not embody his suggested amendments, which were approved by the Senate. The Senate President and the President withdrew their signatures and declared the bill as invalid. However, the enactment and validity of House Bill No. 9266 was asserted by the petitioner as the authentication of the presiding officers of the Congress is proof enough of its due enactment. The court ruled that since the signatures were withdrawn, the bill was not duly enacted. The legislative journal was also visited and the approved substantial amendment by Senator Tolentino was found therein. Since it was not found in the printed text that was sent to the President for signature, the court cannot declare the bill as duly enacted.
The importance of the enrolled bill doctrine was also reflected in the case of Morales v. Subido, with G.R. No. L-29658, November 29, 1968. In the case at bar, the petition for mandamus to compel the respondent Commissioner of Civil Service to appoint petitioner for the Chief of police position was not granted because he is neither qualified nor eligible for the given position under Section 10 of the Police Act of 1966. According to the petitioner, there were various changes made in House Bill 6951 and there was an entire provision that was deleted on which his qualification was grounded on. The enrolled bill in possession of the legislative secretary of the President contained the signatures of both the Senate President and House Speaker, together with their secretaries. The enrolled bill was also signed by the President which could only mean its finality. There should be no more room for inclusions of other enlargements to an already enrolled bill.
These cases only highlight the court’s emphasis and weight on law enactments. As a citizen of the law, awareness of the legislative process is one of great importance. This way, we get to appreciate and criticize the acts of the legislation as responses to our societal needs and rights.
It is in the people, above all, where the power of the government springs from.
This article is the first of a three-part series of The Advocati.
