Case Digest (G.R. No. 127685)
Facts:
Ople v. Torres, G.R. No. 127685, July 23, 1998, the Supreme Court En Banc, Puno, J., writing for the Court. Petitioner Blas F. Ople, then a Senator, challenged Administrative Order No. 308 (A.O. No. 308), titled “Adoption of a National Computerized Identification Reference System,” issued by President Fidel V. Ramos on December 12, 1996. The Order created an Inter‑Agency Coordinating Committee (IACC), designated the National Computer Center as secretariat, and provided that the Population Reference Number (PRN) generated by the National Statistics Office (NSO) would serve as the common reference to link concerned agencies and to adopt standards in the use of “Biometrics Technology” and computer application designs; it further provided for information dissemination and directed that funding be sourced from the respective budgets of the concerned agencies.A.O. No. 308 was published in newspapers on January 22–23, 1997. On January 24, 1997, petitioner filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking to invalidate A.O. No. 308 on the grounds that (A) it usurped the legislative power of Congress, (B) it effected an impermissible appropriation or misuse of public funds, and (C) it invaded constitutionally protected zones of privacy. Respondents were the Executive Secretary and the heads of the agencies composing the IACC, charged with implementing the Order. The Court issued a temporary restraining order on April 8, 1997 enjoining implementation of A.O. No. 308 while the petition was pending.
Below the Court’s discussion, respondents attacked petitioner’s standing and the ripeness of the case, and defended A.O. No. 308 as a valid exercise of the President’s administrative powers and as noninvasive of privacy. The case was...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Do petitioner’s status and the circumstances render this petition justiciable — i.e., does petitioner have standing and is the case ripe for judicial review?
- Did the President usurp the legislative power of Congress by issuing A.O. No. 308 (i.e., was A.O. No. 308 beyond permissible administrative action)?
- Did A.O. No. 308 unlawfully appropriate or reallocate public funds in violation of Congress’ exclusive power to appropriate?
- Does A.O. No. 308, on its face, unc...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)