Delegation of Powers
not to say expediency, of giving the chief
What is Delegation of Powers?
Fundamentally, legislative power is an attribute
of sovereignty, in that the Constitution itself, the
fundamental law of the State, is a legislation of
the sovereign people. However, through the
Constitution, the people “delegated” the
legislative power to the Congress of the
Philippines. Section 1, Article VI states that
“Legislative power shall be vested in the
Congress of the Philippines…” The delegation of
power entails a surrender of authority to the
representatives, or in the case of legislative
power, to the Congress. Thus, law-making can
only be performed by the Congress, even if the
law it enacts involves the people.
What is the Principle of Non-delegation of
Powers?
The Congress cannot further delegate the power
delegated to it by the people. This is in keeping
with the principle of non-delegation of powers
which is applicable to all the three branches of
the government. The rule states that what has
been delegated cannot further be delegated –
potestas delegata non delegari potest. A
delegated power must be discharged directly by
the delegate and not through the delegate’s
agent. It is basically an ethical principle which
requires direct performance by the delegate of
an entrusted power. Further delegation
therefore constitutes violation of the trust
reposed by the delegator on the delegate. The
people, through the Constitution, delegated
lawmaking powers to the Congress, and as such,
it cannot as a rule delegate further the same to
another.
Exceptions to the Principle of Non-delegation of
Powers
Permissible Delegation:
(1) Delegation of tariff powers to the President.
Article 6, Section 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.”
1
- the reason for this delegation is the necessity,
executive the authority to act immediately on
certain matters affecting the national economy
lest delay result in hardship to the people.
(2) Delegation of emergency powers to the
President.
Article 6, Section 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 its next adjournment.”
The conditions for the vesture of emergency
powers in the President are the following:
a) There must be war or other national
emergency.
b) The delegation must be for a limited
period only.
c) The delegation must be subject to such
restrictions as the Congress may
prescribe.
d) The emergency powers must be
exercised to carry out a national policy
declared by the Congress.
Important points:
*the emergency powers are self-liquidating
unless sooner withdrawn.
*Conferment of emergency powers on the
President is not mandatory on the Congress. The
Congress may choose to hold on to its legislative
powers and validly refuse to delegate it.
(3) Delegation to the people at large.
- The Congress further delegates its legislative
power by allowing direct legislation by the
people in cases of initiative and referendum.
(4) Delegation to local governments.
- This delegation is based on the principle that
the local government is in better position than
the national government to act on purely local
concerns. Legislative power is therefore given to
them for effective local legislation.
(5) Delegation to administrative bodies.
- The Congress delegates the so called “power of
subordinate legislation” to administrative
bodies. Due to the growing complexity of
modern society, it has become necessary to
allow specialized administrative bodies to
promulgate supplementary rules, so that they
can deal with technical problems with more
expertise and dispatch than the Congress or the
courts. Regulations or supplementary rules
passed by the administrative bodies are
intended to fill-in the gaps and provide details to
what is otherwise a broad statute passed by
Congress. For the rules and regulations to be
valid and binding, they must be in accordance
with the statute on which they are based,
complete in themselves, and fix sufficient
standards. If any of the requirements is not
satisfied, the regulation will not be allowed to
affect private rights

The Completeness Test

Ideally, the law must be complete in all its

essential terms and conditions when it leaves the
legislature so that there will be nothing left for
the delegate to do when it reaches him except
enforce it.

Sufficient Standard Test

It is intended to map out the boundaries of the

delegate’s authority by defining the legislative
policy and indicating the circumstances under
which it is to be pursued and effected. The
purpose of the sufficient standard is to prevent a
total transference of legislative power from the
lawmaking body to the delegate.