LOUIS 'BAROK' C. BIRAOGO v. PHILIPPINE TRUTH COMMISSION OF 2010, GR No.

192935, 2010-12-07
Facts:
For consideration before the Court are two consolidated cases[5] both of which essentially
assail the validity and constitutionality of Executive Order No. 1, dated July 30, 2010,
entitled "Creating the Philippine Truth Commission of 2010."
The first case is G.R. No. 192935, a special civil action for prohibition instituted by petitioner
Louis Biraogo (Biraogo) in his capacity as a citizen and taxpayer. Biraogo assails Executive
Order No. 1 for being violative of the legislative power of Congress under
Section 1, Article VI of the Constitution[6] as it usurps the constitutional authority of the
legislature to create a public office and to appropriate funds therefor.[7]
The second case, G.R. No. 193036, is a special civil action for certiorari and prohibition filed
by petitioners Edcel C. Lagman, Rodolfo B. Albano Jr., Simeon A. Datumanong, and
Orlando B. Fua, Sr. (petitioners-legislators) as incumbent members of the House of
Representatives.
The genesis of the foregoing cases can be traced to the events prior to the historic May
2010 elections, when then Senator Benigno Simeon Aquino III declared his staunch
condemnation of graft and corruption with his slogan, "Kung walang corrupt, walang
mahirap." The
Filipino people, convinced of his sincerity and of his ability to carry out this noble objective,
catapulted the good senator to the presidency.
To transform his campaign slogan into reality, President Aquino found a need for a special
body to investigate reported cases of graft and corruption allegedly committed during the
previous administration.
Thus, at the dawn of his administration, the President on July 30, 2010, signed Executive
Order No. 1 establishing the Philippine Truth Commission of 2010 (Truth Commission).
the Philippine Truth Commission (PTC) is a mere ad hoc body formed under the Office of
the President with the primary task to investigate reports of graft and corruption committed
by third-level public officers... and employees, their co-principals, accomplices and
accessories during the previous administration, and thereafter to submit its finding and
recommendations to the President, Congress and the Ombudsman. Though it has been
described as an "independent collegial body," it is... essentially an entity within the Office of
the President Proper and subject to his control. Doubtless, it constitutes a public office, as
an ad hoc body is one.
To accomplish its task, the PTC shall have all the powers of an investigative body under
Section 37, Chapter 9, Book I of the Administrative Code of 1987. It is not, however, a
quasi-judicial body as it cannot adjudicate, arbitrate, resolve, settle, or render awards in...
disputes between contending parties. All it can do is gather, collect and assess evidence of
graft and corruption and make recommendations. It may have subpoena powers but it has
no power to cite people in contempt, much less order their arrest. Although it is... a fact-
finding body, it cannot determine from such facts if probable cause exists as to warrant the
filing of an information in our courts of law. Needless to state, it cannot impose criminal, civil
or administrative penalties or sanctions.
The PTC is different from the truth commissions in other countries which have been created
as official, transitory and non-judicial fact-finding bodies "to establish the facts and context
of serious violations of human rights or of international humanitarian law in a country's...
past."[9] They are usually established by states emerging from periods of internal unrest,
civil strife or authoritarianism to serve as mechanisms for transitional justice.
Truth commissions have been described as bodies that share the following characteristics:
(1) they examine only past events; (2) they investigate patterns of abuse committed over a
period of time, as opposed to a particular event; (3) they are temporary bodies that finish
their... work with the submission of a report containing conclusions and recommendations;
and (4) they are officially sanctioned, authorized or empowered by the State.[10]
"Commission's members are usually empowered to conduct research, support victims, and
propose... policy recommendations to prevent recurrence of crimes. Through their
investigations, the commissions may aim to discover and learn more about past abuses, or
formally acknowledge them. They may aim to prepare the way for prosecutions and
recommend institutional... reforms."[11]
Thus, their main goals range from retribution to reconciliation. The Nuremburg and Tokyo
war crime tribunals are examples of a retributory or vindicatory body set up to try and
punish those responsible for crimes against humanity. A form of a reconciliatory tribunal is
the
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa, the principal function of which was to
heal the wounds of past violence and to prevent future conflict by providing a cathartic
experience for victims.
Issues:
1. Whether or not the petitioners have the legal standing to file their respective petitions
and question Executive Order No. 1;
2. Whether or not Executive Order No. 1 violates the principle of separation of powers
by usurping the powers of Congress to create and to appropriate funds for public
offices, agencies and commissions;
3. Whether or not Executive Order No. 1 supplants the powers of the Ombudsman and
the DOJ;
Does the creation of the PTC fall within the ambit of the power to reorganize as expressed
in Section 31 of the Revised Administrative Code?... is there a valid delegation of power
from Congress, empowering the President to create a public office?... whether or not the
Supreme Court, in the exercise of its constitutionally mandated power of Judicial Review
with respect to recent initiatives of the legislature and the executive department, is
exercising undue... interference.
Is the Highest Tribunal, which is expected to be the protector of the Constitution, itself guilty
of violating fundamental tenets like the doctrine of separation of powers?
Ruling:
Evidently, their petition primarily invokes usurpation of the power of the Congress as a body
to which they belong as members. This certainly... justifies their resolve to take the cudgels
for Congress as an institution and present the complaints on the usurpation of their power
and rights as members of the legislature before the Court.
Indeed, legislators have a legal standing to see to it that the prerogative, powers and
privileges vested by the Constitution in their office remain inviolate. Thus, they are allowed
to question the validity of any official action which, to their mind, infringes on their...
prerogatives as legislators.
With regard to Biraogo, the OSG argues that, as a taxpayer, he has no standing to question
the creation of the PTC and the budget for its operations.
As correctly pointed out by the OSG, Biraogo has not shown that he sustained, or is in
danger of sustaining, any personal and direct injury attributable to the implementation of
Executive Order No. 1.
Notwithstanding, the Court leans on the doctrine that "the rule on standing is a matter of
procedure, hence, can be relaxed for nontraditional plaintiffs like ordinary citizens,
taxpayers, and legislators when the public interest so requires, such as when the matter is
of... transcendental importance, of overreaching significance to society, or of paramount
public interest."
Section 31 contemplates "reorganization" as limited by the following functional... and
structural lines: (1) restructuring the internal organization of the Office of the President
Proper by abolishing, consolidating or merging units thereof or transferring functions from
one unit to another; (2) transferring any function under the Office of the President to... any
other Department/Agency or vice versa; or (3) transferring any agency under the Office of
the President to any other Department/Agency or vice versa. Clearly, the provision refers to
reduction of personnel, consolidation of offices, or abolition thereof by reason of... economy
or redundancy of functions. These point to situations where a body or an office is already
existent but a modification or alteration thereof has to be effected. The creation of an office
is nowhere mentioned, much less envisioned in said provision. Accordingly, the... answer to
the question is in the negative.
The Court, however, declines to recognize P.D. No. 1416 as a justification for the President
to create a public office. Said decree is already stale, anachronistic and inoperable. P.D.
No. 1416 was a delegation to then President Marcos of the authority to reorganize the...
administrative structure of the national government including the power to create offices and
transfer appropriations pursuant to one of the purposes of the decree, embodied in its last
"Whereas" clause:
WHEREAS, the transition towards the parliamentary form of government will necessitate
flexibility in the organization of the national government.
Clearly, as it was only for the purpose of providing manageability and resiliency during the
interim, P.D. No. 1416, as amended by P.D. No. 1772, became functus oficio upon the
convening of the First Congress, as expressly provided in Section 6, Article XVIII of the
1987
Constitution.
While the power to create a truth commission cannot pass muster on the basis of P.D. No.
1416 as amended by P.D. No. 1772, the creation of the PTC finds justification under
Section 17, Article VII of the Constitution, imposing upon the President the duty to ensure
that the laws... are faithfully executed. Section 17 reads:
Section 17. The President shall have control of all the executive departments, bureaus, and
offices. He shall ensure that the laws be faithfully executed. (Emphasis supplied).
the allocation of power in the three principal branches of government is a grant of all powers
inherent in them. The President's power to conduct investigations to aid him in ensuring the
faithful execution of laws - in this case,... fundamental laws on public accountability and
transparency - is inherent in the President's powers as the Chief Executive. That the
authority of the President to conduct investigations and to create bodies to execute this
power is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution or... in statutes does not mean that he
is bereft of such authority.
The President's power to conduct investigations to ensure that laws are faithfully executed
is well recognized. It flows from the faithful-execution clause of the Constitution under
Article VII, Section 17 thereof.[56] As the Chief
Executive, the president represents the government as a whole and sees to it that all laws
are enforced by the officials and employees of his department. He has the authority to
directly assume the functions of the executive department.[57]
Invoking this authority, the President constituted the PTC to primarily investigate reports of
graft and corruption and to recommend the appropriate action. As previously stated, no
quasi-judicial powers have been vested in the said body as it cannot adjudicate rights of...
persons who come before it. It has been said that "Quasi-judicial powers involve the power
to hear and determine questions of fact to which the legislative policy is to apply and to
decide in accordance with the standards laid down by law itself in enforcing and
administering... the same law."[58] In simpler terms, judicial discretion is involved in the
exercise of these quasi-judicial power, such that it is exclusively vested in the judiciary and
must be clearly authorized by the legislature in the case of administrative... agencies.
Fact-finding is not adjudication and it cannot be likened to the judicial function of a court of
justice, or even a quasi-judicial agency or office. The function of receiving evidence and
ascertaining therefrom the facts of a controversy is not a judicial function. To be...
considered as such, the act of receiving evidence and arriving at factual conclusions in a
controversy must be accompanied by the authority of applying the law to the factual
conclusions to the end that the controversy may be decided or resolved authoritatively,
finally and... definitively, subject to appeals or modes of review as may be provided by law.
The actual prosecution of suspected offenders, much less adjudication on the merits of the
charges against... them,[63] is certainly not a function given to the commission.
The... function of determining probable cause for the filing of the appropriate complaints
before the courts remains to be with the DOJ and the Ombudsman.
At any rate, the Ombudsman's power to investigate under R.A. No. 6770 is not exclusive
but is shared with other similarly authorized government agencies.
The act of investigation by the Ombudsman... contemplates the conduct of a preliminary
investigation or the determination of the existence of probable cause. This is categorically
out of the PTC's sphere of functions. Its power to investigate is... limited to obtaining facts
so that it can advise and guide the President in the performance of his duties relative to the
execution and enforcement of the laws of the land. In this regard, the PTC commits no act
of usurpation of the Ombudsman's primordial duties.
The same holds true with respect to the DOJ. Its authority under Section 3 (2), Chapter 1,
Title III, Book IV in the Revised Administrative Code is by no means exclusive and, thus,
can be shared with a body likewise tasked to investigate the commission of crimes.
Finally, nowhere in Executive Order No. 1 can it be inferred that the findings of the PTC are
to be accorded conclusiveness.
These offices, therefore, are not deprived of their mandated duties but will instead be aided
by the reports of the PTC for possible indictments... for violations of graft laws.
The Philippine Supreme Court, according to Article VIII, Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution,
is vested with Judicial Power that "includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual
controversies involving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to...
determine whether or not there has been a grave of abuse of discretion amounting to lack
or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the government."
Furthermore, in Section 4(2) thereof, it is vested with the power of judicial review which is
the power to declare a treaty, international or executive agreement, law, presidential
decree, proclamation, order, instruction, ordinance, or regulation unconstitutional. This
power... also includes the duty to rule on the constitutionality of the application, or operation
of presidential decrees, proclamations, orders, instructions, ordinances, and other
regulations. These provisions, however, have been fertile grounds of conflict between the
Supreme Court,... on one hand, and the two co-equal bodies of government, on the
other. Many times the Court has been accused of asserting superiority over the other
departments.
To answer this accusation, the words of Justice Laurel would be a good source of
enlightenment, to wit: "And when the judiciary mediates to allocate constitutional
boundaries, it does not assert any superiority over the other departments; it does not in
reality nullify or... invalidate an act of the legislature, but only asserts the solemn and sacred
obligation assigned to it by the Constitution to determine conflicting claims of authority
under the Constitution and to establish for the parties in an actual controversy the rights
which that... instrument secures and guarantees to them."[107]
Thus, the Court, in exercising its power of judicial review, is not imposing its own will upon a
co-equal body but rather simply making sure that any act of government is done in
consonance with the authorities and rights allocated to it by the Constitution. And, if after
said... review, the Court finds no constitutional violations of any sort, then, it has no more
authority of proscribing the actions under review. Otherwise, the Court will not be deterred
to pronounce said act as void and unconstitutional.
Principles:
The role of the Constitution cannot be overlooked. It is through the Constitution that the
fundamental powers of government are established, limited and defined, and by which
these powers are distributed among the several departments.[2] The Constitution is... the
basic and paramount law to which all other laws must conform and to which all persons,
including the highest officials of the land, must defer.[3] Constitutional doctrines must
remain steadfast no matter what may be the tides of time. It cannot be... simply made to
sway and accommodate the call of situations and much more tailor itself to the whims and
caprices of government and the people who run it.[4]
Like almost all powers conferred by the Constitution, the power of judicial review is subject
to limitations, to wit: (1) there must be an actual case or controversy calling for the exercise
of judicial power; (2) the person challenging the act must have the standing to question...
the validity of the subject act or issuance; otherwise stated, he must have a personal and
substantial interest in the case such that he has sustained, or will sustain, direct injury as a
result of its enforcement; (3) the question of constitutionality must be raised at the... earliest
opportunity; and (4) the issue of constitutionality must be the very lis mota of the case.
Locus standi is defined as "a right of appearance in a court of justice on a given
question." In private suits, standing is governed by the "real-parties-in interest" rule as
contained in Section 2, Rule 3 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, as... amended. It
provides that "every action must be prosecuted or defended in the name of the real party in
interest." Accordingly, the "real-party-in interest" is "the party who stands to be benefited or
injured by the judgment in the suit or the party entitled to the... avails of the suit." Succinctly
put, the plaintiff's standing is based on his own right to the relief sought.
The distinction between the power to investigate and the power to adjudicate was
delineated by the Court in Cariño v. Commission on Human Rights.[59] Thus:
"Investigate," commonly understood, means to examine, explore, inquire or delve or probe
into, research on, study. The dictionary definition of "investigate" is "to observe or study
closely: inquire into systematically: "to search or inquire into: x x to... subject to an official
probe x x: to conduct an official inquiry." The purpose of investigation, of course, is to
discover, to find out, to learn, obtain information. Nowhere included or intimated is the
notion of settling, deciding or resolving a controversy involved in the... facts inquired into by
application of the law to the facts established by the inquiry.
The legal meaning of "investigate" is essentially the same: "(t)o follow up step by step by
patient inquiry or observation. To trace or track; to search into; to examine and inquire into
with care and accuracy; to find out by careful inquisition; examination; the taking of...
evidence; a legal inquiry;" "to inquire; to make an investigation," "investigation" being in turn
described as "(a)n administrative function, the exercise of which ordinarily does not require
a hearing. 2 Am J2d Adm L Sec. 257; x x an inquiry, judicial or otherwise, for the...
discovery and collection of facts concerning a certain matter or matters."
"Adjudicate," commonly or popularly understood, means to adjudge, arbitrate, judge,
decide, determine, resolve, rule on, settle. The dictionary defines the term as "to settle
finally (the rights and duties of the parties to a court case) on the merits of issues raised: x...
x to pass judgment on: settle judicially: x x act as judge." And "adjudge" means "to decide or
rule upon as a judge or with judicial or quasi-judicial powers: x x to award or grant judicially
in a case of controversy x x."
In the legal sense, "adjudicate" means: "To settle in the exercise of judicial authority. To
determine finally. Synonymous with adjudge in its strictest sense;" and "adjudge" means:
"To pass on judicially, to decide, settle or decree, or to sentence or condemn. x x.
Implies a judicial determination of a fact, and the entry of a judgment." [Italics included.
Citations Omitted]