Aquino Jr.

v COMELEC
January 31, 1975 G.R. No. L-40004

FACTS

This is a petition for prohibition seeking the nullification of Presidential Decrees 1366, 1366-A
calling for a referendum, Presidential Decrees 629 and 630 appropriating funds for the
referendum, and Presidential Decrees 637 and 637-A specifying the referendum questions and
other PDs relative to the referendum. (A referendum ​is a direct vote in which an entire electorate
is invited to vote on a particular proposal)

The petition is predicated on the first ground that President Ferdinand Marcos does not hold any
legal office nor possess any lawful authority under either the 1935 Constitution or the 1973
Constitution, therefore has no authority to issue the questioned proclamations, decrees and
orders.

The court affirmed the​ ​validity of Martial Law Proclamation No. 1081 issued on September 22,
1972 by President Marcos. The question of its validity was foreclosed given that in the 1973
Constitution: all proclamations, orders, decrees, instructions and acts promulgated, issued or
done by the incumbent President shall be part of the law of the land and shall remain valid,
legal, binding and effective even after the lifting of Martial Law or the ratification of this
Constitution and that any inquiry by this Court in the present cases into the constitutional
sufficiency of the factual bases for the proclamation of Martial Law, has become moot and
purposeless as a consequence of the general referendum of July 27-28, 1973. The voters were
asked: "Under the (1973) Constitution, the President, if he so desires, can continue in office
beyond 1973. Do you want President Marcos to continue beyond 1973 and finish the reforms be
initiated under Martial Law?" The overwhelming majority of those who cast their ballots,
including citizens beyond 15 and 18 years, voted affirmatively on the proposal.

CONTEXT: This case happened during the transitory period of martial law. Delving deeper into
the case, Marcos, through the referendum, was reelected as President of the Philippines.
Petitioners would question on whether or not Marcos was still the President. Here, we look at
the 1973 Constitution and its provision. Thereafter, the court would then refer to an authority in
constitutional law (Aruego) and the floor leader of the 1971 Constitutional Convention
(Pacifador) to clarify on how the constitutional provision be construed.

ISSUES
1. W/N President Ferdinand Marcos possesses any legal office or lawful authority under
either the 1935 Constitution or the 1973 Constitution? (YES)
2. W/N Marcos is the incumbent President of the Philippines within the purview of Section 3
of Article XVII on the transitory provisions of the 1973 Constitution? (YES)

RULING
 1. With regard to Habeas Corpus cases, the court affirmed the validity of Martial Law
Proclamation No. 1081 by President Marcos because there was no arbitrariness in the
issuance of said proclamation pursuant to the 1935 Constitution. ​The martial law
proclamation has been foreclosed given Section 3(2) of Article XVII of the 1973
Constitution, which provides that “all proclamations, orders, decrees, instructions
and acts promulgated, issued or done by the incumbent President shall be part of
the law of the land and shall remain valid, legal, binding, and effective even after
the lifting of Martial Law or the ratification of the Constitution.​ Inquiries related to
the cases with regard to its constitutional sufficiency of factual bases for the
proclamation of Martial Law has been moot and purposeless as a consequence of the
general referendum of July 1973. The voters were asked if they wanted Marcos to
extend office and to continue beyond 1973 and finish reforms be initiated by Martial Law,
with an overwhelming majority voting affirmatively to the proposal. In turn, by the
referendum, the sovereign people expressly authorized him to continue in office beyond
1973.

The logical consequence therefore is that President Marcos is a de jure President of the
Republic of the Philippines.

2. By virtue of his reelection in 1969, the term of Marcos was to terminate on December
1973. The New Constitution was approved by the Constitutional Convention on 1972,
still during his incumbency. Being the only incumbent President of the Philippines at the
time of the approval of the Constitution, the ConCon had nobody in mind except Marcos
who shall initially convene the interim Assembly. It was him alone who issued orders and
decrees as well as instructions and other acts as President while the constitution was
being approved and ratified. Consequently, since Marcos was the only incumbent
President at that tie, because his term has yet to expire, the ConCon in approving the
new Constitution only had him in mind when Section 3(2) of Article XVII of the new
Constitution it provided “​that all proclamations, orders, decrees, instructions and
acts promulgated, issued, or done by the​ ​incumbent President​ ​shall be part of the
law of the land, and shall remain valid, legal, binding, and effective even after
lifting of Martial Law…”

The term ​incumbent President​ of the Philippines employed in the same article
could only refer to President Marcos.

DOCTRINE:

SEC. 3. (1) The incumbent President of the Philippines shall initially convene the interim
National Assembly and shall preside over its sessions until the interim Speaker shall have been
elected. He shall continue to exercise his powers and prerogatives under the nineteen hundred
and thirty-five Constitution and the powers vested in the President and the Prime Minister under
this Constitution until he calls upon the interim National Assembly to elect the interim President
and the interim Prime Minister, who shall then exercise their respective powers vested by this
Constitution.

(2) All proclamations, orders, decrees, instructions, and acts promulgated, issued, or done by
the incumbent President shall be part of the law of the land, and shall remain valid, legal,
binding, and effective even after lifting of martial law or the ratification of this Constitution,
unless modified, revoked, or superseded by subsequent proclamations, orders, decrees,
instructions, or other acts of the incumbent President, or unless expressly and explicitly modified
or repealed by the regular National Assembly.

StatCon of the case (Aids to Construction):

Because President Ferdinand Marcos is the incumbent President of the transitory provisions of
the 1973 Constitution, (1) “he can continue to exercise the powers and prerogatives under the
1935 Constitution and the powers vested in the President and the Prime Minister under this
Constitution (2) until he calls upon the ​interim​ National Assembly to elect the ​interim​ President
and the ​interim​ Prime Minister, who shall then exercise their legislative powers vested by this
Constitution.”

(1) The court affirms that as Commander-in-Chief and enforcer and administrator of
martial law, the incumbent President of the Philippines can promulgate
proclamations, orders, and decrees during the period of Martial Law. The entire
paragraph of Section 3(2) is not a grant of authority to legislate, but a recognition
of such power as already existing in favor of the incumbent President during the
period of Martial Law.

Dr Jose Aruego (authority in Constitutional Law as well as delegate to the 1935

and 1971 Constitution) shares in his view:

The Presidential Proclamations, order, decrees, instructions had been issued by

the incumbent President in the exercise of what he consider to be his powers
under martial law, in the same manner that the lawmaking body had enacted
several thousand statues in the exercise of what it consider to be its power under
Organic Law. Both these classes of rules of law - by the President and by the
lawmaking body - were under general principles of constitutional law, presumed
to be constitutional until declared unconstitutional by the agency charged with the
power and function to pass upon constitutional law question. Hence, the inclusion
of both group of rules - President rules and legislative rules - in the new
Constitution for the people to approve or disapprove in the scheduled plebiscite.

Delegate Arturo Pacificador (Floor Leader of the 1971 ConCon) explains Section
3(2) of Article XVII and recognizes the legislative power of the incumbent
President:
 It expressly recognizes that the commander-in-chief, under martial law, can
exercise all necessary powers to meet the perils of invasion, insurrection,
rebellion or imminent danger thereof.

It is an express recognition on the framers of the 1971 Constitution of the wisdom

of proclamations, orders, decrees and instructions by the incumbent President in
the light of the prevailing conditions obtaining in the country

(2) Petitioners argue that the President should call the ​interim ​National Assembly as
required of him by Section 3(1) of Article XVII, which National Assembly alone
can exercise legislative powers during the period of transition. The Constitutional
Convention, however, intended to leave to the President the determination of the
time when he shall convene the ​interim​ National Assembly, consistent with the
prevailing conditions of peace and order in the country.

Aruego:

The ConCon could have fixed the the date when the interim National Assembly
should convene, as it did with respect to the regular National Assembly. But
considering the country has been placed under martial law, many delegates felt
that the incumbent President should be given the discretion to decide when the
interim​ National Assembly should be convened because he would need its
counsel and help in the administration of affairs of the country. Many delegates
also felt that they could not even be sure of the proximate date when the general
conditions of peace and order would make possible orderly elections.

Pacifacador:

​ ational
The word used is “shall” to indicate the mandatory nature of the ​interim N
Assembly. The ConCon, however, did not fix any definite time. This decision is
deliberate to allow the incumbent President enough discretion to decide whether
conditions have already normalized, permitting the convening of the ​interim
National Assembly.

HELD:

President Ferdinand E. Marcos is hereby declared de jure President of the Philippines, and
Presidential Proclamations Nos 1366 and 1366A and Presidential Decrees Nos. 629, 630, 637
and 637A are hereby declared valid and the petition is hereby dismissed.