Republic of the Philippines i IVED
HOUSE OF THE REPRESENTATIVES ts 8 2019
Quezon City
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
1550
HOUSE BILL No."

Introduced by REPRESENTATIVES ALFREDO A. GARBIN, Jr. and
ELIZALDY S.CO

EXPLANATORY NOTE

“There is an urgent need for immediate revision of all existing substantive laws of
the Philippines and of codifying them in conformity with the customs, traditions, and
idiosyncrasies of the Filipino people and with moder trends in legislation and the
progressive principles of law.”

— Executive Order no. 48, Creating the Code Commission,
signed by Former President Manuel Roxas

Signed in 1947, the aforementioned executive order created the Code
Commission, which paved the way for the passing of the Civil Code in 1952. More than
half a century has passed, as well as thousands of laws, and again we see the
necessity of executing the heed of President Roxas in his order.

‘The words of President Roxas sixty-three years ago are as relevant today as it
was then. There is need for a re-codification of our laws to ensure harmony in jegislation
and eliminate contradictions, keeping in mind the outdated and repealed provisions of
our Civil Code that resulted from the creation of succeeding laws.

This bill seeks to create the 2016 Civil Code Commission, which will perform the
daunting task of the codification of all existing civil laws of the Philippines, in line with
the current administration's of good government and efficient legislation, and to
effectively remove contradictions, redundancies and confusing provisions in our laws.
The Civil Code Commission shall complete its work not later than one (1) year from the
date of approval of this bill, and shall submit to the President a report of the work
undertaken by it together with the corresponding drafts of the code for submission to the
Congress of the Philippines.

The bill was filed in the 15" Congress and its substituting bill was referred to the
Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for a position paper and to other
stakeholders, but for lack of time, its progress was halted at the committee level. In light
of all these circumstances, the swift passage of this bill is earnestly sought

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Eu s.co

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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF THE REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
1550

HOUSE BILL No.

Introduced by REPRESENTATIVES ALFREDO A. GARBIN, Jr. and
ELIZALDY S.CO

AN ACT

CREATING A CIVIL CODE COMMISSION TO IMPLEMENT THE RE-CODIFICATION

OF ALL EXISTING CIVIL LAWS OF THE PHILIPPINES, DEFINING ITS
COMPOSITION AND FUNCTIONS, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in

Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Title — This Act shall be known as the “CIVIL CODE RE-
CODIFICATION ACT OF 2016”,

SEC. 2. Creation — There shall be created, under the Office of the President of
the Philippines, a Civil Code Commission to implement the revision and re-
codification of all existing civil laws of the Philippines, and of codifying them in
conformity with the customs and traditions of the Filipino people, and modern
trends in legislation and the progressive principles of law.

SEC. 3. Composition and Structure — The chairman of the Civil Code
Commission shall be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. The Law
Center of the University of the Philippines shall serve as the Secretariat. The Civil
Code Commission shall be composed of the Chairman, the Secretariat, and the
following members:

(a) The President of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), or his
representative;

(b) The Chief of the Public Attorney's Office (PAO), or his representative;

(c) The Solicitor General, or his representative;

(d) The president of a socio-civic organization with an advocacy relevant to the
functions of the Commission, representing the civil society who will be
appointed by the President of the Philippines;

(e) The president of a noted non-government organization with an advocacy for
the rights of women and children who will be appointed by the President of
the Philippines; and

(f) A member of the academe who is a civilistinoted expert in civil laws,
practitioner and/or professor of Civil Law for at least ten (10) years who will
likewise be appointed by the President of the Philippines.

The Commission shall be under the executive control and supervision of the
President of the Philippines.

SEC. 4. Powers and Functions - The Commission shall have the following
powers and functions:


(a) To revise all the existing substantive civil laws of the Philippines and to codify
them in conformity with the customs and traditions of the Filipino people, and
modem trends in legislation and the progressive principles of law;

(b) To call on any official or employee of any bureau, office, branch, subdivision,
agency, or instrumentality of the Government to assist or otherwise extend his
cooperation to the Committee in connection with the performance of its
functions to carry out the provisions of this Act,

(c) To complete its work not later than one (1) year from the date of approval of
this Act;

(a) To submit to the President of the Philippines a report of the work undertaken
by it together with the corresponding drafts cf the Civil Code for submission to
the Congress of the Philippines; and

(e) To deliver to the National Library the records and documents and
proceedings of the Commission to the National Library for preservation or
disposition by the latter office according to law,

SEC. 5. Existence — Upon the completion of its work and the submission of its
report, the Commission shall cease to exist and the services of the Chairman and
the Members of the same and of all the employees working under it shall
terminate. Properties, aside from the records and documents and proceedings of
the Commission, shall be disposed of in accordance with generally accepted
accounting rules and regulations. The unexpended balances of its appropriations
shall revert to the unappropriated general fund in the Philippine Treasury.

SEC. 6. Compensation — The chairman and members of the Commission shail
receive such compensation as may be fixed by the President of the Philippines,
but if they are at the same time, government officials receiving regular salaries,
they shall serve without additional compensation. The Chairman may, subject to
the approval of the President of the Philippines and the provisions of civil service
and other relevant laws, appoint such assistants and other subordinate
employees as may be necessary.

SEC. 7. Appropriations - To carry out the purpose of this Act, there is
appropriated out of any national funds not otherwise appropriated, the sum of
Twenty Million Pesos (Php20,000,000) for the necessary expenses of the Penal
Code Commission

SEC. 8. Effectivity Clause — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days from its
publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general
circulation

Approved.