EN BANC

G.R. No. 167798 --- Kilusang Mayo Uno, et al., Petitioners, versus The Director
General, National Economic Development
Authority, et al., Respondents.

G.R. No. 167930 --- Bayan Muna Representatives Satur C. Ocampo, et

al., Petitioners, versus Eduardo Ermita, et
al., Respondents.

Promulgated:

April 19, 2006

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DISSENTING OPINION

YNARES-SANTIAGO, J.:

The ponencia dismissed the petitions and upheld the validity of Executive
Order (E.O.) No. 420 ruling that E.O. No. 420 applies only to government agencies
that issue ID cards as part of their functions; that E.O. No. 420 limits the data to be
collected and recorded to only 14 specific items; that the issuance of E.O. No. 420
is well within the power of the President to promulgate.

With due respect, I do not agree with the ponente in saying that E.O. No. 420 is
constitutional. On the contrary, E.O. No. 420 constitutes a usurpation of legislative
functions by the executive branch of the government; infringes on the citizenrys
right to privacy; and completely disregards and violates the decision of this Court
in Ople v. Torres.[1]
Encroachment on the law making powers of the legislature:

The Constitution allocated constitutional authority to each of the three co-

equal branches of the government to ensure political independence of each branch
and provided sufficient checks and balances against the hazards of concentrated
power in the hands of any one branch. Thus, the Constitution explicitly provides
that the legislature shall be vested in the Congress, the executive power shall be
vested in the President, and judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court
and in such lower courts as may be established by law.

The doctrine of separation of powers does not however, absolutely prohibit

delegation of legislative authority. The Constitution itself makes the delegation of
legislative powers to the President. [2] Sections 23(2) and 28(2) of Article VI
provide thus:

Sec. 23(2): In times of war or other national emergency, the

Congress may, by law, authorize the President, for a limited period and
subject to such restrictions as it may prescribe, to exercise powers
necessary and proper to carry out a declared national policy. Unless
sooner withdrawn by resolution of the Congress, such powers shall cease
upon the next adjournment thereof.

Sec. 28(2): The Congress may, by law, authorize the President to

fix within specified limits, and subject to such limitations and
restrictions as it may impose, tariff rates, import and export quotas,
tonnage and wharfage dues, and other duties or imposts within the
framework of the national development program of the Government.

Respondents cite the Constitution, particularly Section 1, Article VII, as

basis for the issuance of E.O. No. 420. The contention is untenable. Said provision
merely declares that the executive power shall be vested in the President of
the Philippines. It is generally defined as the power to enforce and administer
laws. It is the power of carrying the laws into practical operation and enforcing
their due observance.[3] It does not in any way permit a delegation of legislative
power. Likewise, respondents cannot validly cite Sections 23(2) and 28(2) of
Article VI as above quoted since they refer to a delegation of certain powers which
may be exercised only in times of war or other national emergency or the
imposition of certain taxes or duties within the framework of the national
development program of the government. Certainly, E.O. No. 420 does not fall in
either category.

Respondents also claim that the Administrative Code of 1987 also empowers
the President to issue executive orders[4] and vests upon her residual powers;[5] that
the President has the inherent right to formulate rules which officials of the
executive branch of government shall abide.

Indeed, the Administrative Code of 1987 delegates to the President certain

ordinance powers in the form of presidential issuances, which include executive
orders, administrative orders, proclamations, memorandum orders, memorandum
circulars, and general and special orders. These issuances have the force and effect
of laws. Executive Orders are acts of the President providing for rules of a general
or permanent character in implementation or execution of constitutional or
statutory powers.[6] Among the rules and regulations that may be issued by the
President are those intended for the guidance of subordinate executive officials to
promote a more efficient and cost effective administration of government
department and agencies. To this genre of regulations E.O. No. 420 allegedly
belongs.

The case of Walter E. Olsen & Co. v. Herstein[7] discusses at length

executive orders, to wit:

x x x Executive Order No. 41 is nothing more or less than a command

from a superior to an inferior. It creates no relation except between the
official who issues it and the official who receives it. Such orders,
whether executive or departmental, have for their object simply the
efficient and economical administration of the affairs of the department
to which or in which they are issued in accordance with the law
governing the subject matter. They are administrative in their
nature and do not pass beyond the limits of the department to which
they are directed or in which they are published, and, therefore,
create no rights in third persons. They are based on, and are the
product of, a relationship in which power is their source and
obedience their object. (Emphasis added)
 To be valid, an administrative issuance, such as an executive order, must
comply with the following requisites:

(1) Its promulgation must be authorized by the legislature;

(2) It must be promulgated in accordance with the prescribed

procedure;

(3) It must be within the scope of the authority given by the

legislature; and

(4) It must be reasonable.[8]

It cannot be argued that E.O. No. 420 is nothing more than the Presidents
exercise of the power of control over the executive branch of the government.
While it is true that the President wields executive and administrative powers and
participate in rule making through delegated legislative authority, however,
Congress cannot abdicate its legislative powers and delegate them, unless the
Constitution and the law so grant. Notwithstanding, the avowal by the
respondents that E.O. No. 420 is merely an internal regulation to promote
efficiency in government operations and greater convenience for those transacting
business with the government, the unrestricted and unrestrained impact of a unified
multi-purpose ID system divests itself of the pretensions of an internal
management issuance. As the term denotes, the multipurpose ID card system can
be utilized in any and all conceivable situations involving government or even
private transactions as the whereas clause so states. Unlike existing government ID
cards which are designed for specific and official transactions, the multipurpose
ID is devoid of such specificity. The scope of its usage is staggering and all
encompassing. With its ubiquitous application, its legal and practical repercussions
will not be confined solely to the corridors of the executive departments but will
overflow even beyond. Thus, E.O. No. 420, while ostensibly an internal regulation,
runs counter to the letter and spirit of the doctrine that an executive order is
nothing more or less than a command from a superior to an inferior; that it creates
no relation except between the official who issues it and the official who receives
it.
 Another statutory basis invoked by respondents to justify E.O. No. 420 is
Sec. 20, Chapter 7, Title I, Book III of the Administrative Code of 1987 which
states:

Sec. 20. Residual Powers. Unless Congress provides otherwise, the

President shall exercise such other powers and functions vested in the
President which are provided for under the laws and which are not
specifically enumerated above or which are not delegated by the
President in accordance with law.

However, the residual power contemplated above can operate only within
the context of a pre-existing law. It cannot stand independent of a valid legislative
act. Thus, the legal character of E.O. No. 420 is much unlike that of E.O. No. 132
as illustrated in Larin v. Executive Secretary[9] where the Court upheld the
challenged order since there exists statutory basis that the President is authorized
to effect organizational changes including the creation of offices in the department
or agency concerned. Further ratiocinating on the legality of E.O. 132, the Court
held:

Another legal basis of E.O. No. 132 is Section 20, Book III of
E.O. No. 292 which states:

Sec. 20. Residual Powers. Unless Congress provides otherwise,

the President shall exercise such other powers and functions vested in
the President which are provided for under the laws and which are not
specifically enumerated above or which are not delegated by the
President in accordance with law. (italic ours)

This provision speaks of such other powers vested in the

President under the law. What law then gives him the power to
reorganize? It is Presidential Decree No. 1772 which amended
Presidential Decree No. 1416. These decrees expressly grant the
President of the Philippines the continuing authority to reorganize
the national government, which includes the power to group,
consolidate bureaus and agencies, to abolish offices, to transfer
functions, to create and classify functions, services and activities and
to standardize salaries and materials. The validity of these two
decrees are unquestionable. The 1987 Constitution clearly provides that
 all laws, decrees, executive orders, proclamations, letters of instructions
and other executive issuances not inconsistent with this Constitution
shall remain operative until amended, repealed or revoked. So far, there
is yet no law amending or repealing said decrees. [10]

Unlike the challenged order in Larin v. Executive Secretary, E.O. No. 420 is
devoid of constitutional or statutory basis.

E.O. No. 420 vis-vis A.O. No. 308:

The case of Ople v. Torres[11] involves A.O. No. 308 which also provides for
the adoption of a national computerized reference ID system to provide Filipino
citizens and foreign residents with the facility to conveniently transact business
with basic service and social security providers and other government
instrumentalities.

In Ople v. Torres, the Court struck down A.O. No. 308 for being
unconstitutional. The Court rejected the argument that A.O. No. 308 merely
implements the Administrative Code of 1987 since it establishes for the first time a
National Computerized Identification Reference System, which requires a delicate
adjustment of various contending state policies the primacy of national security,
the extent of privacy interest against dossier gathering by government, and the
choice of policies, among others. It was held that A.O. No. 308 involves a subject
that is not appropriate to be covered by an administrative order.

The same is true with E.O. No. 420. Although couched differently, A.O. No.
308 and E.O. No. 420 are similar in their effects and intent.

A.O. No. 308 requires a concerted and collaborative effort among the
various basic services and social security providing agencies and other government
instrumentalities to achieve the national ID system, while E.O. No. 420 requires all
government agencies and instrumentalities to institute a unified multipurpose ID
system.

At the forefront of the implementation of both ID systems is the entire

government machinery. The government as an institution is the most dominant
fixture in any civilized society. Its decisions virtually affect every facet in the life
of every citizen. With all government instrumentalities required to adopt the
proposed ID system, its reach and extent becomes practically inescapable since, as
in the words of Ople v. Torres, no citizen will refuse to get this identification card
for no one can avoid dealing with government. It is thus clear as daylight that
without the ID, a citizen will have difficulty exercising his rights and enjoying his
privileges.[12]

The proposed ID systems incorporate a reference number, denominated as

the Population Reference Number in A.O. No. 308 and as a common reference
number in E.O. No. 420. This reference number, together with other data
requirements and information, shall then be collected and stored in a centralized
computer database, which is sought to establish a government-wide linkage among
concerned agencies, or to reduce the cost for the maintenance of redundant
database containing the same or related information. Like A.O. No. 308, the
collated and stored data under E.O. No. 420 will be made readily accessible to any
government agency or instrumentality which makes a request. The State is afforded
an unbridled authority to retrieve or utilize stored data for whatever purpose it
deems necessary. Although E.O. No. 420 spells out the general intent of the
proposed ID system, which is to establish the identity of the person, it is difficult to
decipher a more specific reason for its adoption. After all, an ID card, whatever
form or design it takes, is essentially a tool for identification. The equivocal and
vague objective of the proposed ID system is an invitation not only to its proper
use but also to its misuse and abuse.

Even the safeguards delineated in E.O. No. 420 will not cure its fatal
infirmities. Other than the motherhood assurances of confidentiality, or that the
data stored will be used solely for establishing the identity of a person, or the
proscription against violation of the right to privacy, there are no clear, specific and
categorical guarantees that would dispel trepidations and suspicions of
mistreatment and abuse. We can only repeat the apprehensions resoundingly
expressed in Ople v. Torres:

We can even grant, arguendo, that the computer data file will be
limited to the name, address and other basic personal information about
the individual. Even that hospitable assumption will not save A.O. No.
 308 from constitutional infirmity for again said order does not tell us in
clear and categorical terms how these information gathered shall be
handled. It does not provide who shall control and access the data,
under what circumstances and for what purpose. These factors are
essential to safeguard the privacy and guaranty the integrity of the
information. Well to note, the computer linkage gives other government
agencies access to the information. Yet, there are no controls to guard
against leakage of information. When the access code of the control
programs of the particular computer system is broken, an intruder,
without fear of sanction or penalty, can make use of the data for
whatever purpose, or worse, manipulate the data stored within the
system.[13]
Prescinding from the above reasoning, the identification of the 14 items to
be collected under E.O. No. 420 does not divest it of its illegality. It does not
narrow down its application in the absence of well-defined parameters for its
application.

Right to Privacy:

The right to privacy is the inalienable right of an individual to be let

alone. As a legal precept, the privacy of an individual takes its bearing from
common law which recognized a mans house as his castle, impregnable, often,
even to its own officers engaged in the execution of its commands. Although the
great preponderance of American judicial authority have recognized the existence
of the right of privacy, it was the publication in 1890 of Harvard Law
Review[14] article entitled The Right to Privacy by Warren and Brandeis (later
Justice Brandeis) which crystallized the right as an independent legal right and
opened the doors for a more systematic formulation of the distinctive principles
upon which it is based. That article synthesized at one stroke a whole new category
of legal rights and initiated a new field of jurisprudence.[15]

The U.S. Constitution does not explicitly express the right to privacy, yet the
U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized, albeit implicitly, such a right in its
efforts to preserve the individuals control over his personal image. The U.S.
Supreme Court, in 1965, recognized that privacy is within the legal penumbra of
the Bill of Rights, particularly in the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Ninth
Amendments.[16]
 In Griswold v. Connecticut,[17] the U.S. Supreme Court laid down the
constitutional foundations of the right to privacy. The Court recognized the need to
protect basic constitutional rights and applied the same against the states under the
Due Process Clause, mandating a stricter scrutiny for laws that interfere with
fundamental personal rights than for those regulating economic relations. One such
fundamental personal right, the right to privacy, was deemed to have penumbras,
formed by emanations from those guarantees that help give life and substance
reasoning that the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Ninth Amendments of the
American Constitution imply zones of privacy that form the basis for the general
privacy right affirmed in Griswold v. Connecticut.

The U.S. Supreme Court is yet to fully expand the right to privacy to the
level of an independent doctrine covering personal information, although the
Federal High Court implicitly acknowledged the existence of the right to
information in Whalen v. Roe.[18] In that case, the State of New York passed a law
requiring physicians to identify patients obtaining prescription drugs enumerated in
the Controlled Substance Act of 1972, drugs with medical application but with
potential for abuse. The names and addresses of the patients were required to be
recorded in a centralized computer file of New York States Department of Health.
The issue presented before the U.S. Supreme Court was whether the State of New
York could keep a centralized computer record of the names and addresses of all
persons who obtained certain drugs pursuant to a doctors prescription.

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the above statute
since it complied with certain safeguards to the right to privacy, namely: 1) while a
persons interest in avoiding disclosure of personal matters is an aspect of the right
to privacy, the law did not give a grievous threat to establish a constitutional
violation; 2) the statute was necessary to assist in the enforcement of the law
designed to minimize the misuse of dangerous drugs; 3) the patient-identification
requirement was a product of an orderly and rational legislative decision made
upon recommendation by a commission, which held hearings on this matter; 4) the
law was narrowly drawn and contained several safeguards against indiscriminate
disclosure; 5) the law laid down the procedure for the gathering, storage, and
retrieval of the information; 6) it enumerated who were authorized to access the
data; and 7) it prohibited public disclosure of the data by imposing penalties for its
violation.

In a related case, Justice Department v. Reporters Committee for Freedom of

the Press,[19] dealt with a request for "rap sheets" compiled by the FBI. The
information was gathered from public records across the country and stored in a
computer database. In that case, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld withholding the
information and articulated a practical obscurity doctrine (a judicial acceptance of
forgive and forget) in which the Court assumed that computers exacerbate the
threat to personal privacy by eliminating the natural elements of time and distance
among scattered bits of information that once afforded individuals the ability to
distance themselves from past mistakes and start their lives anew. It further
concluded that compilations of personal information taken from generally
accessible public records enjoyed a rejuvenated privacy interest when stored in
government computers and that disclosure of certain categories of public
information held in computers always constituted an undue privacy threat and
could routinely be deemed an unwarranted privacy threat and be withheld without
a case-by-case analysis. Exemptions 6 & 7 of the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) had been interpreted by courts as requiring a balancing of competing
interests, whereby the courts considered the privacy interests at stake against the
public benefit from disclosure. The Court held a seemingly narrow view of the
public interest served by disclosure, focusing only on information that had an
obvious bearing on the agencys performance of its statutory duties. In other words,
although the government collects vast amounts of information on virtually every
facet of society, the public is entitled to have access only to information pertaining
to governmental functions.

Philippine jurisprudence on the right to privacy, not to mention

informational privacy, is at its infancy. There are very few occasions that
Philippine courts are given the opportunity to resolve and expound on issues
relating to the right to privacy as a constitutional guarantee. One reason given by
Justice Jorge R. Coquia, in his treatise[20] on the matter is that the Philippine
Constitution expressly guarantees only the privacy of communication and
jurisprudence.[21]
 With the exception of Ople v. Torres, the more notable case
is Morfe v. Mutuc[22] where the Court first recognized the constitutional right to
privacy as laid down in Griswold v. Connecticut. The case of Ramirez v. Court of
Appeals[23] arose from petitioners act of secretly tape recording an event in direct
violation of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 4200 or the Anti-Wiretapping Act. Therein,
the court clarified that even a person privy to a communication who records his
private conversation with another without the knowledge of the latter will qualify
as a violator under Section 1 of R.A. No. 4200.

The basic attribute of an effective right to informational privacy is the

individuals ability to control the flow of information concerning or describing him,
which however must be overbalanced by legitimate public concerns. To deprive an
individual of his power to control or determine whom to share information of his
personal details would deny him of his right to his own personhood. For the
essence of the constitutional right to informational privacy goes to the very heart of
a persons individuality, a sphere as exclusive and as personal to an individual
which the state has no right to intrude without any legitimate public concern.

As the erosion of personal privacy by computer technology and advanced

information systems accelerate, the individuals ability to control its use has
diminished. Sharing of data among government agencies and private and public
organizations are not uncommon. Aside from the chilling prospect that ones profile
is being formed from the gathering of data from various sources, there is also the
unsettling thought that these data may be inaccurate, outdated or worse, misused.
There is therefore a pressing need to define the parameters on the use of electronic
files or information, to be properly initiated by a legislative act and not formulated
in a mere executive order masquerading as an internal regulation, as in the case of
E.O. No. 420.

Even granting that E.O. No. 420 constitutes a valid exercise of executive
power, it must still be struck down because it falls short of the guarantees laid
down in Whalen v. Roe and Ople v. Torres. There is no specific and foolproof
provision against the invasion of the right to privacy, particularly, those dealing
with indiscriminate disclosure, the procedure for the gathering, storage, and
retrieval of the information, an enumeration of the persons who may be authorized
to access the data; and the sanctions to be imposed against unauthorized use and
disclosure. Although it was mentioned in Section 3 of E.O. No. 420 that the data to
be collected will be limited to the enumeration therein, yet it failed to provide the
yardstick on how to handle the subsequent and additional data that will be
accumulated when the ID is used for future governmental and private
transactions.

Thus, we reiterate the caveat enunciated in Ople v. Torres that the right to
privacy does not bar all incursions into individual privacy. The right is not intended
to stifle scientific and technological advancements that enhance public service and
the common good. It merely requires that the law be narrowly focused and a
compelling interest justifies such intrusions. Intrusions into the right must be
accompanied by proper safeguards and well-defined standards to prevent
unconstitutional invasions. We reiterate that any law or order that invades
individual privacy will be subjected by this Court to strict scrutiny.[24]

In fine, E.O. No. 420 is unconstitutional for lack of constitutional and

statutory basis; its subject matter is not appropriate subject of an executive order;
and it violates the constitutionally guaranteed right to privacy.

ACCORDINGLY, I vote to GRANT the petitions.

CONSUELO YNARES-SANTIAGO
Associate Justice