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Doctrine of casus omissus

A person, object or thing omitted from an


enumeration must be held to have been
omitted intentionally.
The maxim operates only if and when the
omission has been clearly established, and in
such a case what is omitted in the enumeration
may not, by construction, be included therein.
Exception: where legislature did not intend to
exclude the person, thing or object from the
enumeration. If such legislative intent is clearly
indicated, the court may supply the omission if
to do so will carry out the clear intent of the
legislature and will not do violence to its
language (People v. Manantan Case digest)
People v. Manantan
GR L-14129, 31 July 1962 (5 SCRA 684)
Facts:
In information filed by the Provincial Fiscal of
Pangasinan in the Court of First Instance (CFI) of
that Province, Guillermo Manantan was
charged with a violation of Section 54 of the
Revised
Election Code.
A
preliminary
investigation conducted by said court resulted
in the finding of a probable cause that the crime
charged was committed by the defendant.
Thereafter,
the
trial
started
upon
defendants plea of not guilty, the defense
moved to dismiss the information on the
ground that as justice of the peace, the
defendant is not one of the officers enumerated
in Section 54 of the Revised Election Code. The
lower court denied the motion to dismiss,
holding that a justice of the peace is within the
purview of Section 54. A second motion was
filed by defense counsel who cited in support
thereof the decision of the Court of Appeals
(CA) in People vs. Macaraeg, where it was held
that a justice of the peace is excluded from the
prohibition of Section 54 of the Revised Election
Code. Acting on various motions and pleadings,
the lower court dismissed the information
against the accused upon the authority of

the ruling in the case cited by the defense.


Hence, the appeal by the Solicitor General.
Issue:
Whether the justice of the peace was excluded
from the coverage of Section 54 of the
Revised Election Code
Held:
Under the rule of Casus omisus pro omisso
habendus est, a person, object or thing omitted
from an enumeration must be held to have
been omitted intentionally. The maxim casus
omisus can operate and apply only if and when
the omission has been clearly established. The
application of the rule of casus omisus does
not proceed from the mere fact that a case is
criminal in nature, but rather from a reasonable
certainty that a particular person, object or
thing
has
been
omitted
from
a
legislative enumeration. Substitution of terms is
not omission. For in its most extensive sense
the term 'judge' includes all officers appointed
to decide litigated questions while acting in that
capacity, including justice of the peace, and
even jurors, it is said, who are judges of facts.
The intention of the Legislature did not exclude
the justice of the peace from its operation. In
Section 54, there is no necessity to include
the justice of peace in the enumeration, as
previously made in Section 449 of the Revised
Administrative Code, as the legislature has
availed itself of the more generic and broader
term judge, including therein all kinds of
judges, like judges of the courts of First
Instance,
judges
of
the
courts
of
Agrarian Relations, judges of the courts of
Industrial Relations, and justices of the
peace. The Supreme Court set aside the
dismissal order entered by the trial court and
remanded the case for trial on the merits.

Doctrine of last antecedent


Qualifying words restrict or modify only the
words or phrases to which they are immediately
associated not those which are distantly or
remotely located.
Ad proximum antecedens fiat relatio nisi
impediatur sententia relative words refer to
the nearest antecedents, unless the context
otherwise requires
Rule: use of a comma to separate an
antecedent from the rest exerts a dominant
influence in the application of the doctrine of
last antecedent. (Florentino v. PNB)
Issue: whether holders of back pay certificates
can compel government-owned banks to accept
said certificates in payment of the holders
obligations to the bank.
Statute: obligations subsisting at the time of
the approval of this amendatory act for which
the applicant may directly be liable to the
government or to any of its branches or
instrumentalities, or to corporations owned or
controlled by the government, or to any
citizens of the Philippines or to any association
or corporation organized under the laws of
the Philippines, who may be willing to accept
the same for such settlement
Held: the court, invoking the doctrine of last
antecedent, ruled that the phrase qualify only
to its last antecedent namely any citizen of the
Philippines or association or corporation
organized under the laws of the Philippines
The court held that back pay certificate
holders can compel government-owned banks
to accept said certificates for payment of their
obligations with the bank.
Qualifications of the doctrine.
1. Subject to the exception that where the
intention of the law is to apply the phrase to all

antecedents embraced in the provision, the


same should be made extensive to the whole.
2. Doctrine does not apply where the intention
is not to qualify the antecedent at all.

RES IPSA LOQUITOR


-

The
thing,
transaction
or
instrumentality speaks for itself
Capili V Cardana
The fact, however, that respondents
daughter, Jasmin, died as a result of the
dead and rotting tree within the
schools premises shows that the tree
was indeed an obvious danger to
anyone passing by and calls for
application of the principle of res ipsa
loquitur

Reddendo singular singuilis


Variation of the doctrine of last antecedent
Referring each to each;
Referring each phrase or expression to its
appropriate object, or let each be put in its
proper place, that is, the word should be taken
distributively. (Amadora v. CA)
Issue: whether Art 2180 of Civil Code, which
states that lastly teachers or heads of
establishments of arts and trade shall be liable
for damages caused by their pupils and
students or apprentices so long as they remain
in their custody, applies to all schools,
academic as well as non-academic
Held: teachers pupils and students; heads of
establishments of arts and trades to
apprentices

General rule: responsibility for the tort


committed by the student will attach to the
teacher in charge of such student (where school
is academic)

Liberal construction, defined


Equitable construction as will enlarge the
letter of a statute to accomplish its intended
purpose, carry out its intent, or promote justice

Exception: responsibility for the tort


committed by the student will attach to the
head, and only he, (who) shall be held liable (in
case of the establishments of arts and trades;
technical or vocational in nature)

Not to mean enlargement of a provision which


is clear, unambiguous and free from doubt

Generally,
Whether a statute is to be given a strict or
liberal construction will depend upon the
following:
The nature of the statute
The purpose to be subserved
The mischief to be remedied
Purpose: to give the statute the interpretation
that will best accomplish the end desired and
effectuate legislative intent

It simply means that the words should receive


a fair and reasonable interpretation, so as to
attain the intent, spirit and purpose of the law
Liberal construction applied, generally
Where a statute is ambiguous, the literal
meaning of the words used may be rejected if
the result of adopting said meaning would be to
defeat the purpose of the law
Ut res magis valeat quam pereat that
construction is to be sought which gives effect
to the whole of the statute its every word

Strict construction, generally


Generally
Construction according to the letter of the
statute, which recognizes nothing that is not
expressed, takes the language used in its exact
meaning,
and
admits
no
equitable
consideration.
Not to mean that statutes are construed in its
narrowest meaning
It simply means that the scope of the statute
shall not be extended or enlarged by
implication,
intendment,
or
equitable
consideration beyond the literal meaning of its
terms
It is a close and conservative adherence to the
literal or textual interpretation
The antithesis of liberal construction

Mandatory and directory classification of


statutes
Importance: what effect should be given to the
mandate of a statute
Mandatory and directory statutes, generally
Mandatory statute commands either
positively that something be done in a
particular way, or negatively that something be
not done; it requires OBEDIENCE, otherwise
void
Directory statute permissive or discretionary
in nature and merely outlines the act to be
done in such a way that no injury can result
from ignoring it or that its purpose can be
accomplished in a manner other than that
prescribed and substantially the same result
obtained; confer direction upon a person; nonperformance of what it prescribes will not
vitiate the proceedings therein taken

Prospective and retroactive statutes, defined


Prospective
o operates upon facts or transactions that occur
after the statute takes effect
o looks and applies to the future.
Retroactive
o Law which creates a new obligation, imposes
a new duty or attaches a new disability in
respect to a transaction already past.
o A statute is not made retroactive because it
draws on antecedent facts for its operation, or
part of the requirements for its action and
application is drawn from a time antedating its
passage.

STATUTES GIVEN PROSPECTIVE EFFECT


Penal statutes, generally
Penal laws operate prospectively.
Art. 21 of the RPC provides that no felony
shall be punishable by any penalty not
prescribed by law prior to its commission.
Provision is recognition to the universally
accepted principle that no penal law can have a
retroactive effect, no act or omission shall be
held to be a crime, nor its author punished,
except by virtue of a law in force at the time the
act was committed.
Nullum crimen sine poena, nulla poena sine
legis there is no crime without a penalty,
there is no penalty without a law.
Ex post facto law
Constitution provides that no ex post facto law
shall be enacted. It also prohibits the
retroactive application of penal laws which are
in the nature of ex post facto laws.
Ex post facto laws are any of the following:
Law makes criminal an act done before
the passage of the law and which was
innocent when done, and punishes such
act

Law which aggravates a crime, makes it


greater than it was, when committed
Law which changes the punishment &
inflicts a greater punishment than that
annexed to the crime when committed
Law which alters the legal rules of
evidence, authorizes conviction upon
less or different testimony than the law
required at the time of the commission
of the offense
Law which assumes to regulate civil
rights and remedies only, but in effect
imposes penalty or deprivation of a
right for something which when done
was lawful
Law which deprives a person accused of
a crime of some lawful protection to
which he has become entitled, such as
protection of a former conviction or
acquittal, or proclamation of amnesty.
Test if ex post facto clause is violated: Does the
law sought to be applied retroactively take from
an accused any right vital for protection of life
and liberty?
Scope: applies only to criminal or penal
matters
It does NOT apply to laws concerning civil
proceedings generally, or which affect or
regulate civil or private rights or political
privilege (Alvia v. Sandiganbayan)
Law: as of the date of the effectivity of this
decree, any case cognizable by the
Sandiganbayan is not an ex post facto law
because it is not a penal statute nor dilutes the
right of appeal of the accused.

Bill of attainder
Constitution provides that no bill of attainder
shall be enacted.
Bill of attainder legislative act which inflicts
punishment without judicial trial
Essence: substitution of a legislative for a
judicial determination of guilt
Serves to implement the principle of
separation of powers by confining the

legislature to rule-making & thereby forestalling


legislative usurpation of judicial functions.
History: Bill of Attainder was employed to
suppress unpopular causes & political
minorities, and this is the evil sought to be
suppressed by the Constitution.
How to spot a Bill of Attainder:
o Singling out of a definite minority
o Imposition of a burden on it
o A legislative intent
o retroactive application to past conduct suffice
to stigmatize
Bill of Attainder is objectionable because of its
ex post facto features.
Accordingly, if a statute is a Bill of Attainder, it
is also an ex post facto law.

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