Question & AnswerQ&A (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 167)
Presidential Decrees Nos. 1835 and 1975 were repealed by Executive Order No. 167.
Executive Order No. 167 revived Republic Act No. 1700, entitled 'An Act to Outlaw the Communist Party of the Philippines and Similar Associations, Penalizing Membership Therein and for Other Purposes.'
There was a need to repeal those Presidential Decrees because they unduly restricted the constitutional right to form associations.
Repealing those decrees without reviving another law would leave a vacuum where membership in subversive organizations like the Communist Party of the Philippines would no longer be punishable, posing a grave danger to the stability and existence of the government.
The Supreme Court found the Communist Party of the Philippines to be an illegal association working for the overthrow of the Philippine Government by armed struggle and the establishment of a communist form of government.
Republic Act No. 1700 penalizes membership in the Communist Party of the Philippines and similar associations, as well as other related acts.
All laws, presidential issuances, orders, rules, and regulations inconsistent with Executive Order No. 167 or implementing the repealed Presidential Decrees are also repealed or modified accordingly.
Executive Order No. 167 took effect immediately upon its issuance on May 5, 1987.