Practice question
A statute purports to give an executive department, independently of the President, the temporary takeover power over private utility operations contemplated by the constitutional emergency regime. Its supporters argue that any executive agency may be substituted for the President because a law was enacted. Under Mendoza v. Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, which answer is best?
- A statute’s existence automatically cures any unconstitutional choice of delegate.
- Every executive agency is expressly named in Article VI, Section 23(2).
- A department may always exercise this exceptional power as its own independent constitutional authority.
- The constitutional framework identifies the President as the emergency-powers delegate; legislation must comply with that framework rather than independently substitute a department.
- Private utilities become government property automatically in every emergency.
Legal references
- 1987 Constitution, Article VI: https://lawphil.net/consti/cons1987.html
- Mendoza v. Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, G.R. No. 209216, February 21, 2023, main decision: https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/1/69259
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