Ang Nars Party-List (Ang Nars), represented by Congresswoman Leah Primitiva G.

Samaco-Paquiz , before this Court assailing the validity of Section 6 of Executive Order
No. 811[2] (EO No. 811), with prayer for the Court to compel the Executive Secretary, the
Secretary of Budget and Management, and the Secretary of Health (respondents) to
implement Section 32 of Republic Act No. 9173[3] (R.A. No. 9173), otherwise known as
the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002.
Ang Nars is "an accredited party-list organization that promotes the socio-economic,
political, and professional rights of nurses with the responsibility and accountability to
provide safe and quality nursing care to the Filipino people,"

On 21 October 2002, then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (President Macapagal-

Arroyo) approved R.A. No. 9173. Section 32 of R.A. No. 9173 provides:

SEC. 32. Salary. - In order to enhance the general welfare, commitment to service and
professionalism of nurses, the minimum base pay of nurses working in the public health
institutions shall not be lower than salary grade 15 prescribed under Republic Act No.
6758, otherwise known as the "Compensation and Classification Act of 1989": Provided,
That for nurses working in local government units, adjustments to their salaries shall be
in accordance with Section 10 of the said law. (Emphasis supplied)

On 28 July 2008, then Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and then Speaker of the House
of Representatives Prospero C. Nograles approved Joint Resolution No. 4, authorizing the
President of the Philippines "to Modify the Compensation and Position Classification
System of Civilian Personnel and the Base Pay Schedule of Military

SECTION 6. Changes in Position Titles and Salary Grade Assignments of Certain

Positions -

The position titles and salary grade assignments of the entry levels of the following
positions are hereby modified:

urse I 10 11
On 21 May 2014, Rep. Paquiz wrote a letter to then Secretary Enrique T. Ona (Secretary
[6]

Ona) of the Department of Health (DOH) inquiring about the non-implementation of

Section 32 of R.A. No. 9173 mandating that the salary base pay for nurses shall be Salary
Grade 15.
On 27 May 2014, Secretary Ona replied, as follows
Nurse I position with a salary grade 11 might have less complicated tasks and fewer
range of responsibility than a Nurse II with salary grade 15
As per your communication letter received by our office last May 26, 2014, we would like
to clarify that our staffing standards and salary grade classification at the Department is
based on policies and guidelines issued by the Department of Budget and Management
(DBM),
Secretary Ona recommended that Rep. Paquiz direct her inquiries about the
implementation of R.A. No. 9173 to the DBM.
In particular, the entry level for Nurses in government hospitals was upgraded from SG-
10 to SG 11.
While the law expressly provides for SG-15 as the entry level for Nurses, its
implementation would distort the hierarchical relationships of medical, and allied
positions, as well as other positions in the bureaucracy.
Likewise, the proposed upgrading of entry level 4,787 Nurse I positions would require
additional PS costs of Php438,109,687 per annum that would further strain the
government coffers.
Finding the replies of the DOH, DBM, and DOJ unsatisfactory, petitioners filed this
petition before the Court.
Petitioners further claim that Joint Resolution No. 4 did not amend Section 32 of R.A.
No. 9173 and did not lower the entry level of nurses to Salary Grade 11. According to
petitioners, respondents ignored and failed to implement Section 32 of R.A. No. 9173
despite the issuance of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of R.A. No. 9173
through the Board of Nursing's Board Resolution No. 425, series of 2003.
The OSG argues that Section 32 of R.A. No. 9173 was amended, not by EO No. 811, but
by Joint Resolution No. 4 adopted by both the Senate and the House of Representatives
which has the force and effect of a law. The OSG adds that the issuance of EO No. 811
fixing the entry level of government nurses at Salary Grade 11 is a valid delegation of
power under Joint Resolution No. 4.

Under the Constitution, only a bill can become a law. Before a bill can become a law, it
must pass three readings on separate days, unless the President certifies that its enactment
is urgent. Section 26, Article VI of the 1987 Constitution provides:

SEC. 26. (1) Every bill passed by the Congress shall embrace only one subject which
shall be expressed in the title thereof.

(2) No bill passed by either House shall become a law unless it has passed three
readings on separate days, and printed copies thereof in its final form have been
distributed to its Members three days before its passage, except when the President
certifies to the necessity of its immediate enactment to meet a public calamity or
emergency. Upon the last reading of a bill, no amendment thereto shall be allowed, and
the vote thereon shall be taken immediately thereafter, and the yeas and nays entered in
the Journal. (Emphasis supplied)

The purpose for which three readings on separate days are required is two-fold: (1) to
inform the members of Congress of what they must vote on, and (2) to give the members
of Congress notice that a measure is progressing through the legislative process, allowing
them and others interested in the measure to prepare their positions on the matter.

Types of Legislation

The types of measures that Congress may consider and act upon (in addition to treaties in
the Senate) include bills and three kinds of resolutions. They are:

1. Bills

These are general measures, which if passed upon, may become laws. A bill is prefixed
with S., followed by a number assigned the measure based on the order in which it is
introduced. The vast majority of legislative proposals - recommendations dealing with the
economy, increasing penalties for certain crimes, regulation on commerce and trade, etc.,
are drafted in the form of bills. They also include budgetary appropriation of the
government and many others. When passed by both chambers in identical form and
signed by the President or repassed by Congress over a presidential veto, they become
laws.

2. Joint Resolutions

A joint resolution, like a bill, requires the approval of both houses and the signature of the
President. It has the force and effect of a law if approved. There is no real difference
between a bill and a joint resolution. The latter generally is used when dealing with a
single item or issue, such as a continuing or emergency appropriations bill. Joint
resolutions are also used for proposing amendments to the Constitution.

3. Concurrent Resolutions

A concurrent resolution is usually designated in the Senate as S. Ct. Res. It is used for
matters affecting the operations of both houses and must be passed in the same form by
both of them. However, they are not referred to the President for his signature, and they
do not have the force of law. Concurrent resolutions are used to fix the time of
adjournment of a Congress and to express the "sense of Congress" on an issue.
4. Simple Resolutions

It is usually designated with P. S. Res. A simple resolution deals with matters entirely
within the prerogative of one house of Congress, such as adopting or receiving its own
rules. A simple resolution is not considered by the other chamber and is not sent to the
President for his signature. Like a concurrent resolution, it has no effect and force of a
law. Simple resolutions are used occasionally to express the opinion of a single house on
a current issue. Oftentimes, it is also used to call for a congressional action on an issue
affecting national interest.[38]

The Senate's definition of a joint resolution states that it is no different from a bill.
However, under Section 26(2), Article VI of the 1987 Constitution, only a bill can be
enacted into law after following certain requirements expressly prescribed in the
Constitution. A joint resolution is not a bill, and its passage does not enact the joint
resolution into a law even if it follows the requirements expressly prescribed in the
Constitution for enacting a bill into a law.

Section 64[39] of the Rules of the Senate states that "[p]rior to their final approval, bills
and joint resolutions shall be read at least three times." However, Section 68[40] of the
same Rules provides that "[n]o bill shall be passed by the Senate unless it has passed
three (3) readings on separate days x x x."[41] There is no express provision in the Rules of
the Senate that applies Section 68 to Joint Resolutions. The approval process under
Section 68 only applies to bills and not to joint resolutions. In short, there is no express
language in the Rules of the Senate that a joint resolution must pass three readings on
separate days. Thus, the Senate can pass a joint resolution on three readings on the
same day.
, Section 58[42] of the Rules of the House of Representatives states that "[n]o bill or joint
resolution shall become law unless it passes three (3) readings on separate days and
printed copies thereof in its final form are distributed to the Members three (3) days
before its passage except when the President certifies to the necessity of its immediate
enactment to meet a public calamity or emergency.
In any event, neither the Rules of the Senate nor the Rules of the House of
Representatives can amend the Constitution which recognizes that only a bill can
become a law. However, a joint resolution can be part of the implementation of a law as
provided in the law itself. A joint resolution can also be treated as a recommendation to
the Executive on how the law can be implemented.
"After the oath-taking of the newly-elected Speaker, the body shall proceed to the
adoption of the rules of the immediately preceding Congress to govern its proceedings
until the approval and adoption of the rules of the current Congress."
Again, the Constitution provides that only a bill can become a law. When a bill is
proposed, either in the Senate or in the House of Representatives, the public is
immediately informed that there is a proposal being considered which, if it becomes a
law, can bind them. It is imperative for the public to know when a bill is being considered
so that they can send their comments, proposals, or objections to the bill. This is in
consonance with the requirement on transparency in public transactions under Section
28, Article II of the 1987 Constitution which provides that "[s]ubject to reasonable
conditions prescribed by law, the State adopts and implements a policy of full public
disclosure of all its transactions involving public interest." If a joint resolution is
proposed instead of a bill, the public will not be alerted that there is a proposed
legislation, and a law can pass stealthily without notice to the public.
The veto power of the President applies expressly only to bills, not to joint resolutions.
If a joint resolution is given the effect of, and treated as, a law, Congress will be taking
away the veto power of the President since the Constitution only provides for the
President's veto power over a bill. In short, Congress can enact a joint resolution into a
law that is not subject to the President's veto power, a situation that clearly violates the
Constitution.
Joint Resolutions

Joint resolutions may originate either in the House of Representatives or in the Senate.
There is little practical difference between a bill and a joint resolution. Both are subject to
the same procedure, except for a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the
Constitution.

Indeed, under both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, there is no
difference between a bill and a joint resolution. This practice, however, cannot be
applied in this jurisdiction.
There is no counterpart provision in our 1935, 1973 and 1987 Constitutions insofar as
"Order, Resolution or Vote" is concerned. All our Constitutions, including our present
1987 Constitution, have only provided that a "bill" can be enacted into law but have
never provided that an "Order, Resolution or Vote" can also be enacted into law.
First, what we are applying here is the Philippine Constitution, not the U.S.
Constitution. There s no language, express or implied, in all our Constitutions, including
our present 1987 Constitution, providing that a joint resolution can be enacted into:law
if the same procedure for enacting a bill into law is followed.
The language of the 1987 Constitution is plain, simple and clear:
There is no need for interpretation here but only application of the Verba Legis rule.
Second, granting that the 1935, 1973 and 1987 Philippine Constitutions have borrowed
from the U.S. Constitution the basic system of government with three co-equal
branches, our Constitutions have never adopted wholesale or verbatim the U.S.
Constitution.
The rule of expressio unius est exclusio alterius is formulated in a number of ways. One
variation of the rule is the principle that what is expressed puts an end to that which is
implied. Expressum facit cessare tacitum. Thus, where a statute, by its terms, is
expressly limited to certain matters, it may not, by interpretation or construction, be
extended to other matters.
In short, it is the sole discretion of either the Senate or the House whether a joint
resolution can become a law or not. This is not how the Constitution prescribes the
enactment of a law.

WHEREFORE, we GRANT the petition in part by declaring that Section 32 of

Republic Act No. 9173 remains valid, and the provisions of paragraph 16 of Joint
Resolution No. 4 dated 28 July 2008 and Section 6 of Executive Order No. 811 dated 17
June 2009, purporting to amend or repeal Section 32 of Republic Act No. 9173, are
hereby declared VOID and UNCONSTITUTIONAL. However, we DISMISS the
petition in part by refusing to compel the Executive Secretary, the Secretary of Budget
and Management and the Secretary of Health to implement Section 32 of Republic Act
No. 9173.

We NOTE the Motion-to-Intervene dated 28 May 2019 and DISMISS the Petition-in-
Intervention dated 28 May 2019, both filed by the Philippine Nurses Association, Inc., on
the ground that they were filed after the conclusion of the oral arguments.